


Book Three: Desire

by old_and_new_friends



Series: The Candle or The Mirror [3]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ba Sing Se, Book 3: Fire (Avatar), Character Study, Episode: s03e07 The Runaway, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rebellion, Time Travel Fix-It, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:14:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29267058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/old_and_new_friends/pseuds/old_and_new_friends
Summary: Lu Ten’s sleep was haunted with images of the Avatar falling as electricity sparked through the air. A fear of failure gripped his heart and muddied his thoughts.On the opposite end of the spectrum, Iroh seemed to be faring just fine. That is until a figure from his fake past becomes all too real.The Fire Nation had always been a foreign place to Mako, no matter how much he wished otherwise. Traveling through the nation left him feeling somewhere between overwhelmed and excited.They all have a choice to make.After what happened below the City of Ba Sing Se, everything changed, even if the important things remained the same.As the days slowly ticked down to the end of summer, the three men find themselves clinging to moments of happiness and bracing themselves for the inferno to come. The future hinges on the actions of today and they won't fail again. They can’t.Updates every Sunday (unless otherwise stated). - SEMI-HIATUS until April 4th!
Relationships: Iroh II & Lu Ten & Mako, Lu Ten/Mako
Series: The Candle or The Mirror [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668550
Comments: 17
Kudos: 15





	1. Homeward Bound - Lu Ten

**Author's Note:**

> And now Book3!
> 
> Warnings: Mild body horror

Agni kept visiting Lu Ten in his dreams, though thankfully not in the same way as the first dream the spirit had gifted.

This time Lu Ten’s nightmare had been of his own making. It seemed to consist of watching Azula’s lightning shoot towards the young Avatar over and over again. Meanwhile Lu Ten laid prone on the ground, unable to stop it.

Then the room was engulfed with a nearly blinding light before dimming back down to the murky green lighting of the underground city structure. The only two in the room now were Lu Ten and Agni. The dragon was spread out over the floor as if it was his birthright to take up as much room as possible. Lu Ten wasn’t going to argue with someone with that many sharp teeth.

“Agni,” Lu Ten said, sitting up to bow as best he could.

“This wasn’t what you were supposed to change,” Agni said, looking to his left. Aang’s form reappeared as it flashed with electricity and fell. “The Avatar’s journey is his to determine. You cannot change his story, only he can. You need to focus your energies on your own plan. You need to leave for the Fire Nation.”

“No,” Lu Ten said, looking away, “we have things to do here. The Earth Kingdom fell because we weren’t quick enough. We need to take care of them.”

Agni growled low in his throat. Lu Ten frowned in response.

“You said before now that you had no need to see me because what we wanted was the same,” Lu Ten said. “Now suddenly that’s changed? Well, that’s your problem. These people need us.”

Agni’s eyes narrowed as he lifted his head high above him. Lu Ten’s eyes widened in fear as flames descended down on him and he jolted awake.

“Hey, hey,” Mako said, rubbing his back as Lu Ten took deep and painful lungsful of breath. Lu Ten buried his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes harshly. He was shaking slightly. It was the same feeling every time he woke from dreams with the spirit. Overly hot and sensitive, as if his entire body was charred raw.

Lu Ten looked up at Mako before looking away. He wasn’t sure if it was another trick of Angi’s but for the past week or so, looking at Mako felt like looking at a stranger. Something about Mako’s face made Lu Ten nervous, as if he wasn’t who Lu Ten thought he was. He was still as attractive as ever but something was wrong.

Iroh’s voice jolted Lu Ten from his thoughts.

“Agni again?” Iroh asked, itching irritably at his leg. He had been doing that for a while, but there didn’t seem to be a rash there, just overly dry skin.

“Yes,” Lu Ten said. He clinched his jaw slightly. “Apparently saving Aang was doomed from the start and we are wasting our time here.”

Iroh hummed and looked away. He scratched down his leg once more in an aggressive manner before standing.

“What?” Lu Ten asked, staring over at Iroh.

“I didn’t say anything,” Iroh said, moving towards their water stash.

Lu Ten narrowed his eyes. “Do you agree with Agni, than?” Lu Ten asked. “That we are wasting our time here?”

“No,” Iroh said. “We aren’t wasting our time here, but our time here needs to draw to a close at some point. I think that some point is soon.”

Iroh’s face twitched as he groaned. He placed the water jug down and scratched at his leg again.

“Just put some lotions on it,” Mako said, irritably. Iroh had been complaining about his leg for the past two weeks. It was starting to get annoying, particularly because Iroh didn’t seem to be doing anything about it. “You’re going to break the skin.”

“I did,” Iroh said. “It didn’t do anything and now it’s spread to my back and that I can’t reach. It’s driving me crazy. It’s been like this since Lu Ten’s fever dream but it’s been getting progressively worse.”

Iroh scratched harder.

Lu Ten frowned. Iroh hadn’t mentioned anything until two weeks ago, which meant he had been hiding it for a week before that, if not more.

“Stop that,” Mako said, but even as he said it, Iroh scratched straight through his skin.

The entire group paused in horror, as a line of blood rolled down Iroh’s leg. It wasn’t the blood that had them horrified though.

“Is that,” Iroh said, his voice strained “is that a fish scale?”

Lu Ten’s mouth dropped open slightly as Mako moved to wipe the blood from Iroh’s leg. With the blood gone it became pretty obvious that what had been bothering Iroh so badly was a layer of fish scales growing under his skin.

“What the fuck?” Iroh asked, looking down in horror.

Mako’s brow furrowed slightly. “Oh,” he said. Mako seemed to be looking at something that wasn’t there as he crouched down next to Iroh.

“Oh, what?” Iroh asked, glancing at Mako. He looked on the verge of hysterics and Lu Ten couldn’t blame him.

“Well, I don’t know much about it but my friends and I once fought this guy who merged with a spirit. The spirit flew straight through him and well, he started looking like a hybrid of the spirit and a human,” Mako said, scratching his head slightly. “I guess it’s a side effect? I suppose humans aren’t meant to bond with spirits like that unless they are the Avatar.”

“What?” Iroh squeaked. “I’m turning into a fish?”

“No,” Mako said, reaching out to calm Iroh down. “Well, I don’t think so, just La left something behind when he possessed you.”

“But it’s spreading,” Iroh yelled, his voice pitched with panic. “What am I supposed to do if it spreads everywhere?”

“It won’t,” Mako said, with a confidence Lu Ten was sure he was faking. “It’ll be patches. I know that much but you won’t be able to control where they appear.”

“Perfect,” Iroh said, flopping on the ground and scratching at his leg more. “Where’s your mutation?”

Mako paused, his eyes widening. “I don’t know but considering Oma is a woman, I don’t really want to find out,” Mako said.

Lu Ten looked between the two in concern. If hosting the spirits caused mutations in humans other than the Avatar, they needed to be careful.

“No more,” Lu Ten said, sternly.

“What?” Mako asked, turning towards him. Lu Ten felt that odd feeling like he was looking at an entirely new person again. He dragged his eyes over Mako’s face, begging for whatever looked different, whatever Oma may have changed, to make itself known.

“No more hosting the spirits until we have a better understanding of what will happen when we do,” Lu Ten said. “I’m not having one of you turn into a fish, simply because La thinks he’s funny.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” Iroh said, struggling to reach his back.

Lu Ten’s face softened. “Are those the only two spots?” Lu Ten asked. He felt slightly bad for how he and Mako had been yelling at him over the dry patches now that he knew what they were.

“So far, but five days ago it was only my leg,” Iroh said. His voice was strained and tight with tension, but Lu Ten didn’t blame him even as his words came out snappy. Lu Ten wouldn’t be faring much better in his situation.

“That’s weird,” Mako muttered, grabbing his chin in thought.

“What’s weird?” Iroh asked. “The fish scales? Yeah, I noticed.”

“No, well yes, but no,” Mako said. “When Tokuga was deformed by the dragon eel spirit it was almost instantaneous. I wonder why it’s going so slowly for you.”

“Like I said, no more hosting spirits till we figure out what’s going on,” Lu Ten said, helping Iroh scratch his back. He poked at the skin and could feel the texture of the scales underneath. He scratched slightly harder, digging slightly into the skin until one poked through and blood welled up around it. Lu Ten wiped the blood away before it could roll down Iroh’s back.

Lu Ten shivered as he poked the scale itself and pulled his hand back. “Gross,” he said. “Ah, no offense.”

“Kind of offended,” Iroh whispered.

Mako and Lu Ten traded a glance.

“I don’t know, it’s kind of sexy,” Mako tried.

Iroh and Lu Ten looked over at him in concern.

“I don’t know, ignore me,” Mako said, closing his eyes. “I just wanted him to feel better.”

When Mako opened his eyes, Lu Ten realized exactly what about Mako had changed.

Lu Ten frowned slightly reaching up for Mako’s face. He rubbed his thumb below Mako’s left eye. His bright nearly orange-colored eyes had become a dark and muted green color.

“Your eyes are green,” Lu Ten said.

“No,” Mako said. “Pretty sure they’re a copper color.”

“No, Mako,” Lu Ten said, slightly worried. Looking at Mako’s face wasn’t as unnerving now that he knew what was different, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about the color change. He loved Mako’s strange eye color. “They are green.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Iroh yelled. “I get fish scales and all he gets are green eyes? Are you actually kidding me?”

“Oh,” Mako said. He frowned deeply as he reached up towards his eyes. There was an odd emotion in them that Lu Ten couldn’t place.

Lu Ten just hoped that was the only mutation Mako had.

Lu Ten slipped from their hideout. He looked from left to right before gesturing for Mako and Iroh to follow. They needed answers on their newest issue and Lu Ten was hoping someone in their newly set up network might know, particularly at the clinic.

The city had been under constant surveillance by the Fire Nation since the city was outright invaded. It had been an odd experience, as for nearly a week the citizens had remained unaware of just who controlled their city.

Then the walls collapsed and the Fire Nation tanks started rolling through the streets. The citizens of the Lower Ring had known better and hid within their homes, as many of them were former refugees and already knew what happened when the Fire Nation invaded.

The Upper Ring had taken the opposite approach and, in order to hold their power, had immediately conceded and promised loyalty to Fire Lord Ozai.

It was the Middle Ring where the rebellion had started. The Middle Ring held many retired military men, men who immediately jumped into the charge and immediately suffered the consequences of doing so.

It had been a blood bath the likes of which Lu Ten had never seen. Even the Siege of Ba Sing Se had not ended with so many immediate fatalities. They had watched the chaos unfold through the bars of the waterway channels. Lu Ten had wanted to jump into the fray but knew it would only end for him the same way.  
Instead, they waited.

Those who survived, ran. That was when Lu Ten and his friends picked them up and guided them to safety. Things built on from there. 

Ki Ha had managed to mobilize a communication network that was able to slip between the Lower and Middle Rings. It was one he had been building for years but it hadn’t been fully prepared for the increase of information traffic that came with the fall of the city. It had taken a lot of work to boost and an unlikely source to save it.

Lu Ten had been surprised to find just who had decided to help. From Iroh and Mako's explanation of what Lu Ten had missed during his kidnapping, Lu Ten thought Junji would have wanted nothing to do with the growing project.

Instead, Junji had become vital in the communication between the Lower and Middle Rings. In fact, not only had Junji stepped up there, but the man had caused a near takeover of the guards of the Lower Ring. While they maintained a front of loyalty to the Fire Nation and their Captain, most of them were now members of the slow building rebellion. 

The Middle Ring Guards, mostly former military, soon joined as well. This meant information wasn’t blocked by the city guards in the first place, and slipped freely through as Captain Lo, who held a firm grip on the Lower Ring, remained oblivious.

Add to that Biju and his father's no question policy on injuries, and the secret underground clinic they were slowly building, and they had a near perfect system.

Lu Ten knew exactly which three people would be in charge when Lu Ten and his friends did finally leave, but he was still hesitant to do so. He more than trusted Ki Ha, and Junji and Biju had proved themselves several times over, but something was holding Lu Ten tightly to the city.

He just didn’t know what it was.

Lu Ten braced himself as he pushed aside the curtain to the clinic.

“Get out,” Junji called. 

Lu Ten had been expecting that. He still didn’t fully know what Mako and Iroh had done to him in Lu Ten’s absence, but whatever it was had made the man prickly.

“Morning, Junji,” Lu Ten called. Lu Ten wasn’t sure if Junji seriously hated them, or if it was merely his way of showing affection at this point. Sometimes he seemed perfectly content to talk to them and others he looked as if he would toss them in the streets if they so much as looked his way. Lu Ten at least took pride in being the one Junji disliked the least.

“Are Biju or his father here?” Mako asked.

“Biju’s father is occupied, but Biju is in the back,” Junji said, hesitantly.

“Thank you,” Lu Ten said, slipping into the back room. Junji watched them as they went. Regardless of whether Junji liked them or not, the man certainly didn’t trust them around Biju. Lu Ten thought it was kind of sweet, even if Biju seemed oblivious to the gesture.

“Biju,” Iroh called, hopping up on the counter in the back. “What do you know about fish scales?”

Biju turned from where he was measuring out a medicinal cream and squinted at Iroh.

“I usually remove them before I cook the fish by soaking it in warm water then running the blunt edge of a knife over it,” Biju said. “Why?”

“I may have a problem,” Iroh said, pulling up his pant leg to reveal the new scale patch.

“Gah,” Biju shouted, leaning away. “What did you do?”

“Merged with a fish spirit,” Iroh answered. Biju blinked up at him but refrained from commenting.

“Oh,” Biju said, reaching as if to touch the scales before pulling back. “I’ll go get my father.”

Biju’s father Rohan pushed into the room several minutes later and in his typical fashion, took the room by storm. “Why would you merge with a spirit?” He asked, popping Iroh’s hand as Iroh tried to scratch at his leg again. “Don’t you know the dangers?”

“I do now,” Iroh said. “I didn’t think anything of it, we were both willing. I figured it wouldn’t be a problem. Is there a way to stop it?”

“No,” Rohan said, reaching up into the cabinets of the medicine room. “Spirits aren’t meant to combine with humans. The unification of the Avatar was done under specific conditions, though the medical field has long since forgotten what those conditions were. Better men than you have died from this behavior, trying to imitate the Avatar. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I was dying and La was offering to save me and my friends,” Iroh said. His voice was hard and slightly testy. Lu Ten placed his hand on his shoulder to calm him down. “It’s not going to get worse than this, is it?”

Rohan turned and looked closely at Iroh’s leg. “Do you have any more patches like this?” he asked.

“One on my back,” Iroh said. Lu Ten had never heard him sound so small. Lu Ten licked his lips and held out his hand for Iroh to hold. Iroh linked his hand with his and Lu Ten ran his thumb over the back of it.

“Lift your shirt,” Rohan said, tapping Iroh’s knee. Iroh did so and the healer pressed at Iroh’s back. He frowned, likely at feeling what Lu Ten had felt that morning.

Rohan pushed Iroh’s shirt higher and pressed at various points along his back before running his hands over Iroh’s arms, then legs. “I’m not feeling any other areas,” Rohan said, rubbing at Iroh’s neck.

“I think you can count yourself lucky as that appears to be all, but listen to me,” Rohan said, grabbing Iroh’s face and forcing him to look at the older man, “do not merge with a spirit again or this will get worse. I’ve only seen a case like this once before and it was much, much worse. I can only assume you got off so lightly because it was a willing match.”

“What do I do if they ask or offer again?” Iroh asked, nervously.

“Tell them no,” Rohan said. “If they possess you at that point there is nothing you can do but don’t willingly let another spirit in. You could end up with gills!”

Iroh grabbed at his neck, where Rohan had been previously touching. Lu Ten realized with a sinking feeling that was what Rohan had been checking for.

“Do you know what causes this?” Mako asked. “I merged with a spirit as well and the only thing that changed was my eye color.”

Rohan picked up a flyer that rested on the counter and slapped the rolled-up paper over Mako’s head. “Up on the counter, now,” he said, shooing Iroh down and Mako up.

Rohan did the same to Mako as he did to Iroh. “Is this yours?” he asked, pressing on a blotch near Mako’s right elbow.

“Birthmark,” Mako said.

Rohan hummed, before looking over Mako’s face. “Have you always had freckles?” Rohan asked.

“Freckles?” Mako asked, looking into the mirror on the other side of the room.

“Seriously?” Iroh said, throwing his arms up. “Green eyes and freckles? Why’d I get scales?”

“Because, when spirits join with humans, they like to make us appear as them,” Rohan said, returning to his rummaging through the cabinets. “You bonded with La. He’s a fish. Mako likely bonded with a humanoid spirit.”

“Oma,” Mako said.

“Well, then, son, you should be lucky you didn’t end up with boobs,” Rohan joked, making a cupping motion over his chest.

Lu Ten’s face flushed and he looked away.

Mako swallowed. “Is that an actual concern?” Mako asked.

“Bond with her again and see,” Rohan said, glaring over at Mako. “The fact that I’ve seen one spirit possession case in my life is ridiculous, the fact that you just made me see two more is worse. Don’t mess around with spirits. Commune with them in dreams. Visit them in the spirit world. But do not merge with them.”

“Yes, sir,” Lu Ten said. “I’ll make sure they don’t.”

Rohan nodded before lining up the medicines he was looking for along the counter.

“You two out,” Rohan said, gesturing to Mako and Lu Ten. “You, back up on the counter. How high is your pain tolerance?”

“Why?” Iroh asked, following Rohan’s instruction. 

“I’m pulling the scales, and then cauterizing them so they don’t regrow,” Rohan said.

Lu Ten, Mako and Iroh looked at him in confusion.

“When you’ve been in this field as long as I have you get a bit creative sometimes,” Rohan said. “The scales won’t grow over a burn scar, much like hair won’t because the skin is damaged. I’m sure the burn would be preferable to the scales. Now shoo.”

Iroh nodded and gestured for Lu Ten and Mako to leave.

Lu Ten nodded back and led Mako back to the front where Ki Ha was talking lowly to Junji.

“Boys,” Ki Ha said, turning to them. “I’ve got some news.”

“Oh?” Mako asked, leaning on the door frame.

“The Fire Nation Prince and Princess are leaving the city,” Ki Ha said. “They appear to be returning to the Fire Nation.”

Lu Ten felt his stomach drop. He had known they would leave eventually but Lu Ten had been holding out hope that maybe they would stick around longer. He had tried to talk Mako and Iroh into getting his father free, but Mako’s explanation of his own escapade into the palace convinced Lu Ten it was better to wait.

“That’s good,” Mako said. “Without them around the central authority of the city will be the general or governor left in command rather than the royal family. That will make things a bit easier.”

“It’s even better,” Ki Ha said, smiling. “They are taking the Dai Li with them. Which is three less worries for the city.”

“Why are they taking the Dai Li?” Junji asked. “Wouldn’t it better serve them to leave them here?”

“No,” Lu Ten said, thinking back to what Agni had said the night before. “No, the war is changing locations again. Zuko and Azula are being drawn back home for a reason and they are taking the Dai Li with them for protection. Someone is worried but for what reason I don’t know.”

Junji squinted at Lu Ten. “Did you just call the Prince and Princess of the Fire Nation by their names?” Junji asked.

“No,” Lu Ten said, slipping out of the clinic. He needed more space to think.

He didn’t want to leave yet. He didn’t want to return home yet. He hadn’t been in the Fire Nation in nearly seven years at this point. He was scared to see his home through his new disillusioned eyes.

Lu Ten wasn’t ready to confront why he didn’t want to leave either.

He closed his eyes tightly and tried to wash away the thoughts circling in his head.

Zuko and Azula were leaving, and with them went his father. Something was wrong with them. He knew there was but was it fear or was it caution? Iroh said Aang survived but was that really what sent them scrambling for home? 

Azula had never shown fear in the face of the Avatar before, but she had shown a fear of failure her whole life. Failure didn’t send people scrambling across the planet with an elite set of warriors though, particularly as those warriors wouldn’t be able to protect her from her father.

Something else had set Azula off. Lu Ten wanted to know what it was.

Lu Ten sat on the front stoop for a while before Mako and Iroh joined him.

“Scale free?” Lu Ten asked, absently.

“Yeah, but Rohan seems to keep forgetting I’m a waterbender, so now I have two new burn scars for the collection and a weird smelling cream to put on it,” Iroh said, holding the cream under Lu Ten’s nose.

“Ew,” Lu Ten said, pushing the egg smelling cream away from him.

“On a more serious note, where to?” Iroh asked. “Mako clued me in on what’s happening. It’s your call.”

“I don’t know,” Lu Ten said, looking down at his hands. “They need us here.”

“Lu Ten,” Mako said, gently, “you know that’s not true. This place can run on Junji and Ki Ha alone, if needed but even then, there’s an entire network of former guards and military forming. They can stand on their own at this point. It’s time to leave. We’ve never stayed this long after setting up a network.”

Lu Ten took in a deep breath and released it. “I know,” Lu Ten said. “I’m just worried.”

“About?” Iroh asked.

Lu Ten looked down. “When I left the Fire Nation, it was as it’s Crown Prince and Star General’s prodigy son. So much has changed since then. I don’t know if I really want to go home at this point,” Lu Ten said.

Lu Ten ducked his head into his hands as he felt Mako and Iroh’s gazes connect over the top of his head.

“Lu Ten,” Mako said slowly. “You can’t hide from this forever.”

“Why not?” Lu Ten asked.

“Because,” Iroh said, his voice hard, “we don’t get to.”

Lu Ten’s head jerked up and towards Iroh. The older man had a frown on his face as he looked at Lu Ten.

“Seventy-five years,” Iroh said. “Seventy-five years past this war and my mother and I still answer for the actions of what was done here. We weren’t even born then, but we stepped up anyway because it’s the right thing to do. You don’t even get to say that much, Lu Ten. All these years have been a warm up, because it isn’t the Earth Kingdom you need to convince of anything. Your great-grandfather started this and you need to end it. That can’t be done here.”

Lu Ten licked his lips as he glanced up at Iroh. He didn’t know what to make of the other’s face. It wasn’t anger, nor was it disappointment. If Lu Ten didn’t know better, know that of their group Iroh nearly always had the answer, he’d think Iroh was just as lost as he was.

“I know,” Lu Ten said, clenching his hands together. He looked over a Iroh, the look, whatever it had been was gone. “Let’s go.”

Sneaking out of Ba Sing Se had been harder than sneaking in.

The Earth Kingdom guards hadn’t really been all that interested in keeping people out of the Lower Ring and had focused their energies on the Middle and Upper Rings. The Fire Nation, on the other hand, didn't want anyone slipping out of the city. Everyone in the Lower Ring had been someone who escaped them once and they wouldn’t be allowed to escape them again.

The Fire Nation was more than skilled at this point with trapping earthbenders, as such, they set up a perimeter march around the edges that not even Junji and Ki Ha with all their connections would be able to slip them through.

The guards of the Lower Ring was trusted to keep the masses in line but none of them were allowed to keep the perimeter. Only Fire Nation soldiers marched it, most of which were firebenders.

“How do they have so many soldiers to waste on this?” Lu Ten asked. “They had to of deployed at least a thousand out here. We didn’t even have this many when invading.”

“Reading military letters at the time, they were really close to deploying the Home Guard as an active military into the Earth Kingdom. They don’t have this many to waste but they are prioritizing,” Iroh replied. “This makes things difficult. We’ll need to slip past their guard.”

“Could we not go under entirely?” Mako asked. “I know you hate tunnels, but we don’t have many options.”

“You think after a hundred years of war the Fire Nation hasn’t figured out how to combat tunneling?” Lu Ten said. “No, bad idea. They burry things a few feet down so when you tunnel it falls on you. Wire, tar, blasting jelly, and all sorts of nasty stuff will collapse from the top of a tunnel.”

They wouldn’t have to work hard for it either, as Lu Ten’s father had set up plenty across the agricultural ring, many of which were probably still there.

“Well, how deep?” Mako asked.

“What?” Lu Ten asked, turning to look at the shorter man. He glanced away as his eyes caught on Mako’s green ones. He still wasn’t used to it. It wasn’t an ugly change, but they weren’t Mako’s eyes.

“Most earthbenders get caught because they dig only deep enough to not be seen on the surface, right?” Mako asked. “So, let’s go even further down.”

Lu Ten paused. In all their years of fighting the Fire Nation, this specific situation hadn’t crossed their path till now. It was a battlefield practice, one used to trap escaping soldiers or to hold a city they had under siege. They would have encountered it had they tried to liberate Omashu, Lu Ten was sure of it, but the small towns they usually ventured to, weren’t the type to need the set up.

“Yeah, that would work,” Lu Ten said, eventually. He didn’t want to get into a tunnel, especially not one he knew could easily collapse if they misjudged it, but he had gotten used to being underground in this stupid city that if it meant getting out, he’d walk the whole way underground. As it was, they only needed to get past this wall and then the other. They could walk the agricultural district on their own.

“Three feet,” Lu Ten said, as Mako started digging the tunnel. “You need to go down at least eight to not disturb all of the things they buried.”

Mako nodded, and before long they were slipping into the tunnel and under the wall.

Mako took the lead as he pushed the earth to the side. Lu Ten trailed behind him with a small flame held in his palm. He kept glancing up, hoping his flame wouldn’t light anything. Torches carried by soldiers or would-be evacuees, were usually what lit any buried blasting jelly.

Thankfully, Mako had dug deep enough and they had no issue with it.

They had to be more careful coming up on the other side as there were no buildings to block the soldiers on the wall from seeing them.

They got lucky, or maybe Mako could feel it from below, and surfaced on the west side of the new zoo.

Iroh paused a he pulled himself from the tunnel.

“What?” Mako asked, looking around for a threat.

“We didn’t tell anyone we were leaving,” Iroh said.

Lu Ten traded a look with the other two before covering his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Mako shook his head but said nothing as he reached down to pull Iroh the rest of the way out of the whole.

“Well, I think they can figure it out,” Mako said. “Can’t exactly tell them now.”

Lu Ten snorted slightly, as Iroh shook his head and led them a bit further from the wall.

He stopped when they were about two miles and the three silently set up camp.

Lu Ten stared blankly down at his red dragon mask as he unearthed it from his bag. He had nearly forgotten about it, tucked away as it had been.

Lu Ten turned it over in his hands as he gripped it tightly. A thought filtered through his mind and he smirked slightly to himself. He stood and shook the mask in Mako and Iroh’s direction. The motion caught their attention as they both looked up at Lu Ten.

“Something tells me the Fire Nation won’t be very receptive to the Sons of Agni,” Lu Ten joked.

“Imagine that,” Mako said smiling. His green eyes flashed with amusement and Lu Ten’s breath caught. Maybe he could get used to green eyes. They certainly were just as expressive.

“Sucks for them,” Iroh said, a familiar mischievous grin taking up his face. “Their wayward children are coming home.”


	2. Culture Shock - Mako

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mako contemplates Oma's changes and asks Lu Ten a question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally reach the Fire Nation in this chapter! The guys are only a few days behind the Gaang.

Mako had never been to the Fire Nation.

It was an odd realization to come to as they slowly slipped into Fire Nation waters. He glanced up at the huge ships that dwarfed the small craft they were sailing. Iroh had given them cover, and the ships above them were none the wiser as they gilded safely past the blockade.

He had always wanted to visit one day, to find his mother’s family like he and Bolin had found his father’s side. They wouldn’t exist in this time, or well, they would but not in any capacity that related to Mako. His mother was barely even an idea in his grandparent’s head right now. Mako himself was likely a vague concept of eventually.

He could run into his mother’s parents just as easily as he had his father’s and would wouldn’t even notice.

Like much of Mako’s life from before, it was something he was likely to never know.

He frowned slightly at the water. It was too dark this far out to see his reflection. It was merely a shadowy void as he looked but somehow, he could still make out the green of his eyes.

He knew Iroh had been mad that he had gotten fish scales while Mako had ended up with mild cosmetic changes but Mako would have traded. Iroh’s mutations were removed, even if they did leave oddly bumpy burn scars behind.

Mako had to live with his.

The freckles were fine. More than fine as the small dots seemed to fascinate Lu Ten who had never seen them up close before. He found he actually liked them as Lu Ten traced patterns over his cheeks.

His eyes were another story.

Lu Ten seemed to have come around to them, but Mako wasn’t forgetting the man’s aversion to making eye contact those first few days of the change anytime soon. Iroh on the other hand barely even blinked at the change, likely more concerned with additional scale patches he may have missed.

If it was only about his appearance, Mako supposed he could get used to them.

The issue was deeper than that though.

Mako had always looked like his mother. Nearly an identical copy in fact. From their eyebrows, to the texture of their hair, to their face shape, Mako was his mother’s child. That had always included his eyes.

Most people thought them odd, even by Fire Nation standards as the coppery-orange color wasn’t the typical brownish, hazelly, gold most Fire Nation natives sported. They had always signaled him out as they were something distinctive that people remembered. Mako hadn’t cared, as they were hers.

It had been a comfort growing up, as much as it had been a pain, to look into eyes so similar to hers every morning.

Now they were gone.

They weren’t even right green color either. The bright green color of his father’s and Bolin’s eyes was also absent. Instead, they were a dark muted green color that was something else. They were Oma’s eyes and Mako resented them greatly.

La may have freaked Iroh out with his changes, but Oma took something from Mako with her’s. Something he couldn’t get back.

Mako was pulled from his thoughts as arms wrapped around him.

He looked up and smiled weakly at Lu Ten.

“You seem to be thinking really hard about something,” Lu Ten said. “Want to talk?”

Mako didn’t, not yet at least. Not about his eyes anyway.

“I’ve never been here before,” Mako said, instead. “I’ve been pretty much everywhere else for one reason or another but never here. It’s odd as in another life, it would have been mine. To know. To visit.”

Lu Ten hummed and rested his chin on Mako’s head. “It’s beautiful,” Lu Ten said, “you’ll fit right in.”

Mako rolled his eyes. “I’m being serious and you’re flirting with me, really?” Mako asked.

Lu Ten laughed slightly and kissed his cheek before turning to him.

“Alright, you have my full attention,” Lu Ten said. He winked slightly. “Then again you always do.”

Mako shook his head and moved to abandon Lu Ten at the edge of the ship.

“Wait,” Lu Ten said, grabbing his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this was an actual issue. What’s wrong?”

Mako let Lu Ten drag him back until he was wrapped up in his arms, again.

“It’s not my Fire Nation,” Mako said, looking out towards where the first island came into view. “All the reasons I wanted to come are gone. No, even worse, they don’t even exist yet.”

“Oh,” Lu Ten said, following Mako’s gaze. “You know, as odd as it is, sometimes I forget you and Iroh are time travelers from another dimension. Your family was from here then?”

“My mom’s side,” Mako said. “I never knew them. Both my parents seemed to be running to Republic City for one reason or another. Dad wanted more than Ba Sing Se offered, but I never knew what it was mom wanted from the city. What it was she wanted to escape from.”

“Do you know what island they lived on?” Lu Ten asked. “We might be able to visit it.”

It was a sweet thought, but Mako didn’t know anything about his mother’s family, not even where to find them.

“No,” Mako said, “and even if I did, I wouldn’t find what I was looking for anyway. Not yet.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind,” Lu Ten said. “I’ll gladly hunt across the islands with you, even if it means we find nothing.”

“I know,” Mako said, hugging Lu Ten tightly. He knew Lu Ten would do a lot for him if he asked, which was why he was always careful about what he asked for.

They stayed like that for a while before Lu Ten pulled back.

“I know the reasons you wanted to come here aren’t viable anymore, but maybe we can make new reasons,” Lu Ten said.

Mako raised his brow at that. “Other than the war?” Mako asked.

Lu Ten huffed slightly. “Forget the war for a minute,” Lu Ten said. “We have time according to Iroh, lets dream a bit.”

“Dream a bit,” Mako repeated, glancing up at Lu Ten.

“Yeah,” Lu Ten said, “So, you can’t meet your family, but that doesn’t mean you can’t to other things. Like try the foods they would have eaten or look at the stars from this side of the world like they would have. Immerse yourself in their culture, in your culture.”

Mako hummed in thought at that. Lu Ten was right, there was a lot he could potentially do, even if he couldn’t meet his family.

Mako looked up at Lu Ten, grateful that the man existed in his life. He pulled him down in order to plant a kiss on his lips.

“Thank you,” Mako said, though Lu Ten seemed confused at the sentiment. Mako didn’t clarify for him, and instead he walked away least he do something stupid.

That ring he bought back before Ba Sing Se fell, was wearing a hole through his pocket but now wasn’t the time.

They pulled the raft to a stop on the second Island in the chain. Lu Ten frowned down at the waters surrounding it.

"It's clean," Lu Ten said, though his tone nearly made it sound like a question.

"It's water, why wouldn't it be clean?" Mako asked, moving to stand next to Lu Ten.

"Yeah, water should be clean but the water of the Jang Hui River hasn't been clean in years. It's one of the most polluted rivers in the Fire Nation. I'm not complaining that the water is clear here, I'm just confused," Lu Ten said.

"Get used to it," Iroh called, pointing towards the mouth of the river. "We're following behind the Avatar. There's going to be a lot of crazy before it's over."

"They did this then?" Lu Ten asked.

"If this is the town of the Painted Lady spirit, then yes," Iroh said. "Gran Gran always loved telling the story. She's real by the way."

"The Painted Lady?" Mako asked.

Iroh looked at him blankly. "No, my Gran Gran," he said, as he used bending to push their ship to shore.

Mako rolled his eyes at Iroh's response. 

"We need supplies," Iroh said. "Not sure if we can get them here. The river may be clean but this is still the place where the two headed fish jokes originated."

"Iroh your family is odd," Mako said.

Iroh merely smiled at him in reply. It was a sharp smile and Mako braced himself for whatever retribution would come with it. Apparently, Iroh was in a mood today.

"If we can't get supplies here Kaen is only the next island over and I know they have food," Lu Ten said. "Just don't follow any weird lights at night. There's a lot of weird spiritual energy over that island."

"Great," Iroh grumbled. "That's the last place we need to go."

"Well, the only other island within a day's trip is Ember Island," Lu Ten said, growing more exasperated with Iroh. "If you want vacation prices on everything, we can go there?"

"Two headed fish it is," Mako said, grabbing both men by their arms before they continued on with each other.

Mako dragged the two behind him further onto the island.

"You know there are other villages on this island, right?" Lu Ten asked. Mako sighed as he realized him and Iroh weren't going to stop.

"Yes, but only one came in contact with the people we need to locate," Iroh said, his voice biting. "I only know so much about this time period, and where exactly they were and when isn't it. Uncle Sokka had a huge schedule but they never kept to it."

"Why can't we just meet up at the end?" Mako said, trying to get some semblance of peace.

"Wouldn't it defeat the purpose to meet them after the war?" Lu Ten questioned.

Mako paused to look up at his boyfriend, jarring the other two, to a stop. He stared at Lu Ten a moment. The other looking innocently down at him in question, but his tone had been extremely snarky.

He really loved the man, but sometimes Lu Ten could be really dumb.

"Not after the war, Lu," Mako said. "When they finally stop running around the Fire Nation. We know where they end up, we can just meet them there."

"Because that won't raise questions," Iroh muttered.

"How was I supposed to know we knew where they were going?" Lu Ten asked, frowning slightly. “No one tells me things!”

Mako looked between the two. "Food, then we talk," Mako said. Hopefully with full stomachs the two would stop being cranky.

Mako wasn't sure if he loved that it ended up being so simple a solution or hated it. Nonetheless, Iroh and Lu Ten seemed completely fine once the marketplace of Jang Hui, provided a bowl of stew and a loaf of bread.

Lu Ten showed Mako how to use Fire Nation chopsticks as they were startlingly shorter than the ones in the Earth Kingdom. Mako wasn't sure he liked the difference.

"That was really good," Lu Ten said, bowing slightly towards the man. Iroh did the same and after a pause Mako followed their lead. He wasn't completely sure but it felt like there was a social cue he was missing that the other two knew.

"Yes," the owner, Shu, said, "you boys came through at a good time. The waterfowl in the area only just returned due to the river clean up. Before then we only had the one source of meat. This little town is looking up and it's all thanks to The Painted Lady."

The man winked at them as if they were in on the joke. The odd thing was, they were but this man had no way of knowing that. Mako squinted at him in confusion but shook it off.

"Did the Painted Lady have friends with her?" Iroh asked, shoving Lu Ten lightly when the man made a joking grab for his bread.

Mako shook his head at how easily the two settled back into getting along with full stomachs. Sometimes they really were the exact same person.

Shu side eyed them. "Why?" He asked.

"My cousins," Iroh said, "came through here a little while ago. We got separated and we've been trying to catch up with them. They tend to leave a fairly obvious trail behind them."

"We don't really know where she went," Shu said. "Well, other than the West. It sounded like they might be headed towards Shu Jing."

"Piandao," Iroh muttered. "Thank you."

He bowed slightly towards the man before dragging them back towards the dock. Shu switched his hat out and ran ahead of them.

"Hey doc," Mako called, stopping Lu Ten before he once more get into an argument with the man over his name. "Can you give us a ride?"

"Yes, sir," Doc called. "One ride to the shore, coming up."

They set up camp that night along the coast where they originally landed.

"So. Shu Jing next?" Lu Ten said, as he tossed down the tent pieces.

"Yes," Iroh said. "We need to catch up to the others as soon as possible."

Mako paused in his attempts to build a fire pit and glanced over at him. "What do you mean? Is something wrong?" Mako asked.

Iroh was silent a moment as he helped Lu Ten anchor the tent. "We just need to catch them," Iroh said. "They get into a situation that I don't want them handling alone this go around. It will be better if there are adults around for that one."

Iroh's voice sounded closed off and he seemed tense as he stomped down on the anchor peg.

Mako exchanged a glance with Lu Ten. The other was just as concerned as he was. Iroh likely wouldn't say more on the issue though, so Mako allowed it to drop.

"I assume this happens before they get to the cliffs?" Mako asked.

"The cliffs? The Black Cliffs?" Lu Ten asked. "Why are they going there?"

"It’s the meet up spot," Iroh said vaguely, waving Lu Ten off, "and yes, it happens before then. We have some time though as they get arrested in Fire Fountain City first."

"Where?" Lu Ten asked.

Mako and Iroh turned to him in confusion. "Fire Fountain City?" Iroh repeated.

Lu Ten stared blankly at him. "Where's that?" He asked.

"Lu," Mako said, slowly, "it's the second biggest city in the Fire Nation."

"Are you sure this isn't like Republic City where it doesn't exist yet because North Chung-Ling is the second biggest city behind Caldera City," Lu Ten said. "We need to know the actual city in case we miss them in Shu Jing."

"Oh," Iroh said softly. Mako glanced at him and saw his jaw was clenched.

"What?" Lu Ten asked. 

"Well, Fire Fountain City is North Chung-Ling. It got renamed after Ozai took the throne," Iroh said. "I forget it hasn't always been named that."

"Why rename it?" Lu Ten asked. "Particularly, something so oddly specific."

Iroh made a face. "You'll see," he said. "Anyway, I'd prefer to catch them as soon as possible. Not just to change something but also because us showing up at the Black Cliffs when no one told us to go there will be highly suspicious."

Mako nodded. "I didn't even think about that," he said.

"Ah, fuck," Lu Ten said, as a crashing sound, rang off the mountainside. "Why do you never work?"

Mako bit his lip and turned back to his fire pit to keep from laughing as Lu Ten struggled to get the tent up even with Iroh's help. Some things didn't ever really change.

With the fire pit fully assembled, Mako grabbed Lu Ten's hips and pushed him towards the pit to start the fire as Mako took over pitching the tent with Iroh.

Warmth flooded the area as Lu Ten tended to the fire. "Shame it's threatening to rain tonight," Lu Ten said, looking up. "The stars look different on this side of the world. I wanted to show you them."

Mako could hear a deep longing in Lu Ten's voice and knew the other man wanted to see the stars for himself as well. 

Mako looked over his boyfriend and wondered for a moment what was going on in his head. Lu Ten seemed to be deeply mixed up over returning to the Fire Nation but he wasn't really talking about it. 

Iroh snapped the last part of the tent in place before plopping down on the ground next to Lu Ten.

Lu Ten had taken to heating the extra stew they had bought in Jang Hui so they wouldn't have to bother actually cooking that night.

"So, tomorrow morning we sail directly towards Shu Jing?" Lu Ten asked.

"Yes," Iroh replied. "We can ask Piandao if he's seen them or not to get a clear idea of where they are."

"How exactly do you plan on asking him?" Lu Ten said. "He doesn't know you or Mako and he thinks I'm dead."

Iroh paused. "That is a very good point," Iroh said. "I guess we wing it."

"Joy, because that works well for us," Mako complained.

"I mean, it kind of does," Lu Ten joked.

Iroh shook his head and placed his bowl down. "You two can argue about that all you want. I'm going to bed," he said. Iroh stretched up until his back popped before turning towards the tent.

His necklace caught the light and Mako bit his lip. "Ro," Mako called. "Necklace."

Iroh placed his hand over the necklace Mako and Lu Ten had given him. He had started wearing it again as they crossed the Earth Kingdom. "I can't wait until this war is over so I don't have to keep taking this off," Iroh complained, undoing his necklace.

"That's one reason to end the war," Lu Ten said, smiling slightly.

Iroh shook his head even as he laughed softly to himself. He ducked into the tent with a soft "goodnight".

This left Mako and Lu Ten sat by the fire as clouds gathered slowly overhead.

They sat in a deep silence that was at once comfortable but also filled with unspoken conversations.

"I know I joked about it," Lu Ten said, "but it really is a shame Iroh keeps needing to hide his necklace."

Mako hummed in agreement. He knew the necklace meant a lot to Iroh. Up until Ba Sing Se, Iroh had never taken it off. He, ill-advisedly, even slept with it on. It wasn't fair to him that he kept having to stow it away.

Talk of their not engagement necklace for Iroh made the ring in Mako's pocket feel suddenly heavy again. He contemplated calling off and diving into the tent after Iroh to keep from doing something stupid.

Lu Ten's frown kept him from doing so. His boyfriend seemed deep in contemplation. 

"Are you okay?" Mako finally asked.

"No," Lu Ten said. "I'm not sure that I am."

Mako paused for Lu Ten to clarify but he didn't.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mako asked.

"It's different," Lu Ten said, looking up at the cloudy sky. His hand reached up and traced an unknown pattern through the air. "Yet, still impossibly the same. I don't know what to do with that and I'm worried this feeling of wrong yet right will only get worse. I mean you and Iroh knew the name of a town from this time period better than I did. I'm just worried at how much my Uncle could have changed in so short a time."

"Five years can be longer than you think," Mako said. "Think of all the things we did in five years. Spirits I went from being a pro-bender to fighting an empire's take over in four years! It's not as short as it first looks."

Lu Ten sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. Lu Ten laid on the ground. His back hit the earth hard enough to kick up the dust around him.

Mako frowned slightly at how sad Lu Ten sounded and moved to curl up into Lu Ten's side. He tucked a strand of Lu Ten's hair behind his ear before rubbing his hand across Lu Ten's chest and stomach.

Lu Ten grabbed his hand and linked their fingers even as he allowed Mako to continue rubbing up and down his torso.

It was a quiet and intimate moment like they hadn't had in a while. Sure, the two had shared a bed in Ba Sing Se, but there was something different about moments like this.

He supposed that's what compelled him to do it.

"Marry me?" Mako asked.

Lu Ten's hand halted Mako's as the larger man looked down at him.

"Are you serious?" Lu Ten asked. It was soft and hesitant as if Lu Ten thought he misheard.

Mako freed his hand to dig into his pocket and held out the ring he had gotten in Ba Sing Se so long ago.

Lu Ten looked down at it in vague familiarity. It was an Earth Kingdom thing, but Lu Ten knew what it meant.

Lu Ten grabbed the ring with shaky hands and looked it over. It nearly slipped from his fingers when he flipped it.

"I, Mako, are you, are you sure?" Lu Ten asked, looking down at him in worry. "If everything goes to our plan, I'm going to be the Fire Lord. That's a lot to deal with as my boyfriend but as my husband? Are you sure?"

Mako paused, having not even contemplated the issue of Lu Ten potentially being Fire Lord.

Lu Ten's hands shook even worse the longer Mako took to reply. He clenched his hand around the ring to keep it from dropping.

Mako's own hand wrapped around Lu Ten's. He decided he didn't care, even if it turned out to be the hardest thing he's ever done.

"I'm sure," Mako said. "I love you and if I have to fight the whole Fire Nation over that, then so be it. I’m more stubborn than any of them."

Lu Ten smiled softly before it fell slightly. "There's only one problem," Lu Ten said.

"What?" Mako asked, looking up at Lu Ten.

"There's only one place that legally marries same-sex couples. Good news is, it's right next door, bad news is, we have to convince Iroh to let us stop there."

Mako made a face. It always was a toss-up when it came to convincing Iroh of something. "A problem for tomorrow us," Mako finally said. "Let's go to bed."

A ring was suddenly shoved in his face before Mako realized Lu Ten wanted him to slip it onto his finger.

Mako's hands shook as badly as Lu Ten's had moments before, as he slipped the ring into place.

He was knocked backwards into the dirt as Lu Ten's mouth latched onto his.

Mako watched Iroh carefully the next morning as the man made them breakfast.

“We need to leave soon,” Iroh said, seemingly oblivious to the holes Mako and Lu Ten were staring into the side of his head.

“We’ll bust up the camp after breakfast,” Lu Ten said, yawning loudly.

“Tired?” Iroh asked, smirking at them.

Mako blushed. He never could figure out how Iroh always knew when they had sex.

“How did you figure it out this time?” Mako asked.

“Well, you didn’t come back into the tent until well after midnight,” Iroh started. “You were soaking wet and muddy when you finally did because it rained on you. Lu Ten isn’t quiet in the slightest, and oh yeah, the two of you are grinning like absolute loons.”

“We’re not grinning like loons,” Lu Ten muttered. It wasn’t a very successful come back as Lu Ten had to fight to keep his lips from quirking up.

Iroh raised a brow at him before turning back to their breakfast.

A bowl was pushed into Mako’s hands as Iroh plopped down on his right. “Actually, now that you mention it, you two are a bit too giddy for it to be sex so something else must have happened last night,” Iroh said, turning his gaze on Mako.

Iroh had a knowing look on his face. There was an excited gleam in his eyes, as he waited for Mako’s answer.

Mako blushed. He had forgotten that Iroh knew about the ring, having hid it in his room after Mako bought it. It was a leap to make but Iroh was good at making leaps like that.

“So, you remember that ring?” Mako asked, carefully. He was waiting for Iroh’s good humor to disappear as much as he hated to see Iroh upset. He wasn’t sure the man would take it well.

Iroh’s lips twitched into his own loony smile. “I might,” Iroh said.

Mako huffed. “Lu Ten and I are engaged now,” Mako said. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Okay?” Iroh said, smiling brightly at them. “It’s great! I’m happy for you two. Did this happen after I went to bed or have you been sitting on it?”

“Last night,” Mako said, slightly perturbed by Iroh’s reaction. He hadn’t expected the man to be so excited that his platonic partners were getting married.  
“So, a spontaneous proposal and then sex in the dirt?” Iroh asked. “Height of romance isn’t he, Lu?”

Lu Ten laughed.

“Sex in the dirt was his idea!” Mako shouted, pointing at Lu Ten.

“A spirit’s blessed match then,” Iroh said, shaking his head at them. “The weirdo who proposes after a dinner of two headed fish and his loving fiancé who has dirt sex.”

“It was turtle-duck,” Lu Ten corrected.

Mako really didn’t know what to make of the other man’s good humor. If Lu Ten and Iroh had told him they were getting married, he wouldn’t have been nearly as happy. In fact, Mako recalled an incident where he had thought exactly that and had been deeply hurt by it.

It wasn’t until Lu Ten assured him that wasn’t the case that Mako realized he was being stupid. Iroh didn’t seem even the slight bit hurt by the news. He was almost as excited as Lu Ten and Mako themselves.

What ruined Iroh’s excitement wasn’t even that Lu Ten and Mako were making a commitment without him, but that they wanted to do it now.

“So,” Lu Ten said, dragging out the word. He traded a look with Mako, seeming just as confused. “We were wondering if there was time to stop at Kaen and get married? You know since we are already over here. It won’t take long, a day at most.”

“Can’t you get married after?” Iroh asked, looking between them. “Kaen isn’t going to go anyway and besides don’t you want an actual wedding?”

“No,” Lu Ten said, not even hesitating. “I don’t trust the Fire Nation courts not to try and stall it if we tried after and, well, I’d rather marry him now, just in case something happens.”

Iroh paused and ran that through his head a bit. His head tilted as he squinted out into the distance. “Fine,” he said, “but you two owe me one.”

“Thank you, Ro,” Lu Ten said, relaxing. He leaned over and swept Mako into a kiss.

Mako smiled into it, as Lu Ten pulled away.

“Save it for the wedding,” Iroh joked as he stood. “You have a day to get married, so we better hurry.”

Mako knew Iroh was trying to trick them into dismantling the camp quicker but that didn’t stop the trick from working. Mako wasn’t sure he wanted to know what their tent looked like after Lu Ten had wrapped it sporadically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit shorter but I'm trying to let the chapters end more naturally over worrying for a word count. So long as chapters are between 4500-5500 I'm just letting them be.


	3. Midnight Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mako and Lu Ten get married, and Iroh gets caught up in spiritual shenanigans. At least this time it's something he needed.

Iroh wasn't sure what to make of how hesitant Mako and Lu Ten were with telling him of their engagement. Mako hadn't hidden the ring from him when he first got it, nor had he hesitated to tell Iroh what he was thinking about doing.

So, Iroh was unsure where the tiptoeing of the morning came from.

He didn't dwell on it too long, hoping maybe the two were just nervous about the whole thing. Getting engaged, then immediately turning around to get married, wasn't exactly an easy thing.

Iroh wished they had picked a better time but being so close to the only island that would marry them, he wasn't letting them miss the opportunity. Truthfully, Iroh was also excited himself.

He had been silently watching as the two shuffled around each other for years. The two had made commitments to him well before they did so with each other and Iroh was happy for them.

He could remember with clarity that night so long ago when a younger, fresher faced and oddly innocent Lu Ten had sat across from him and begged Iroh to keep quiet about his growing feelings for Mako. Lu Ten had looked so small in that moment that comparing him to the proud and smiling man from this morning almost seemed unfair.

It was hard to believe they were the same person. He supposed love did that to you. Iroh knew, even though it was a different kind of love, what he felt for Mako and Lu Ten had changed him in many ways himself.

He wondered briefly, looking over at Mako who was watching him for some unknown reason, if the two were worried he'd feel left out.

Mako glanced away quickly at being caught but Iroh wasn't fooled. He'd leave it for now, hoping the two had more sense than that. 

Iroh wasn't the jealous type, nor was he worried the two would forget about him. He trusted that if they no longer wanted him, they would at least do him the courtesy of saying so. Iroh had to trust that they weren't like his past relationships. That they wouldn't lie to him about something important.

Mako was staring at him again.

"Am I more interesting to look at than your fiancé?" Iroh asked. "Its fine if I am but maybe don't say so where Lu Ten's ego can hear."

Mako blushed deeply. "No, well, sort of," Mako said, "but no."

"Wait, what?" Lu Ten asked, turning towards Mako as he placed the last of their things in their boat. “What does that mean?”

"Well, it's not important," Mako said, ignoring Lu Ten's affront.

"Sure," Iroh said. He looked between the two and couldn't help the warmth that bubbled up in his chest. "I really am happy for you two. I don't think I can really put it into words but I love you both and I'm glad you two have each other."

"We have you, too," Lu Ten said, quickly.

Iroh snorted, having called them on thinking he was upset just moments before. "No," he said. "You don't get it. I know I have you and you both have me. I know what that necklace you gave me means and I know you two won't break it even now, even when you marry each other. I'm telling you, that I'm happy you two have each other. That you two make each other happy."

Iroh scratched the back of his head as Mako and Lu Ten looked at him in concern. 

"Look, I know I have you two by my side from now until hopefully forever," Iroh said. "I know you care about me and I appreciate more than you know that you don't make relationship decisions without me. I know that I'm a part of this."

Iroh gestured between the three of them.

"You have to understand though, that I'm a part of this in my own way, that isn't attached to this," Iroh continued, pointing between Mako and Lu Ten. "I don't want to be attached to it, either. Occasionally sure, I may slip into that side of your relationship when we're in agreement about it but I don't want to stay there. Marriage is a you thing, not a plus Iroh thing."

Mako still seemed hesitant. Iroh sighed and grabbed his hand.

"Today is about you two, I don't feel any less a part of what we have as a whole because of that. You two being married only affects the relationship between you two. Unless this is your way of telling me otherwise," Iroh said, only now wondering if that might be the case.

Mako and Lu Ten shook their heads quickly and Iroh released his tensed shoulders.

"No," Lu Ten blurted out.

"Never," Mako assured.

"Good," Iroh said, standing and waving them towards the boat. "Now stop thinking I'm upset and let's get you two married."

Mako and Lu Ten traded a look before Mako smiled in a dorky manner.

"Let's go get married," Mako said. Lu Ten smiled brightly back as he lifted Mako off his feet and carried him to the boat. Iroh shook his head and followed behind.

Kaen wasn't very far. It took very little time to reach the next island, so they were able to dock by midday.

Kaen was a very familiar island to Iroh as his family took vacations to the island once a year. It was by no means a typical tourist destination but the overly spiritual island drew a lot of the free-spirited and natural living types.

Iroh's family came for more personal reasons.

"Did you know my parents were married here?" Iroh asked.

"No," Mako and Lu Ten replied. Iroh expected as much, he never recalled mentioning it before.

"Yeah, Kaen specializes in something very rare in the Fire Nation," Iroh said, smirking back at his friends. "Weddings, that don't last five days."

Lu Ten laughed but Mako looked between the two in shock. "They do not last five days," Mako said, in shock.

"You're right," Lu Ten said, smiling at his fiancé. "Some are longer."

Iroh laughed along with Lu Ten as Mako's jaw dropped slightly.

"Kaen is known for its in-and-out weddings. All you need are witnesses and the ability to sign your name. My parents technically eloped here. They never went through an official ceremony, just signed their names and ran off for a two-week trip to Republic City. Only my grandma Mai and Aunt Suki knew," Iroh explained. "The rest of the Nation hates it, but the marriages stand in the eyes of the law, so there's not much they can do about it."

He looked out over the deceptively sleepy village. "Don't let looks fool you," he warned, "this island has an interesting underbelly."

Mako seemed hesitant suddenly. "Maybe we should wait," he said.

"Why?" Lu Ten asked. Iroh could hear the slight panic in his voice. "Kaen is the only island we can marry on."

"Well, for now but what about after?" Mako asked.

"After?" Lu Ten asked.

"The war, when either you or Zuko are Fire Lord," Mako said.

Lu Ten paused as if lost for an answer, though Iroh could see the answer in his eyes.

"Not to interject myself here," Iroh said, turning away from their conversation, "but being Fire Lord doesn't make Lu Ten able to change things overnight. All that aside, we aren't guaranteed a tomorrow. Kaen is a perfectly fine place to get married. It's all legal and binding and when the dust settles, however it settles, you'll still have this."

Mako's shoulders relaxed. "That's why you're rushing it," Mako said, looking up at Lu Ten.

"I don't want to become Fire Lord and be forced to fight over this," Lu Ten said. “It’s something I certainly plan to change, but I don’t want to have to fight to love you.”

"Okay," Mako said, relief coloring his voice. "Let's go."

Iroh was about to walk off when he noticed the two weren't following. Instead, they stood a bit away staring at each other. Iroh shook his head in humor as he continued into the village. They could catch up when they were done.

As he crossed into the village proper, Iroh felt a shiver go down his spine. Having been to the island before, he wasn't too surprised at the sensation but he was at the intensity.

Iroh sat himself at the edge of a fountain as he waited. He leaned back to take in more of the sun and placed his palms behind him. His hand dipped into the fountain slightly and Iroh gasped.

The fountain was fed from a piping system that led to a nearby river. That river dumped into the vast ocean a mile from where Iroh currently sat. The ocean spread out over the world where a small spring fed into an oasis.

He could hear La's laughter in his ears.

Iroh sat up abruptly and pulled his hand from the fountain. The Island of Kaen had always been on the weird side.

It wasn't the first spiritual experience Iroh had from the island but it was the most concerning. He couldn't tell if La was laughing at Iroh's accidental visit or at something that was to come.

Iroh pushed it from his mind, knowing chasing that thought would drive him mad.

Mako and Lu Ten rounded the corner. A sheepish smile spread over Lu Ten's face. Iroh smiled in response as the two drew nearer.

"I'm halfway to the wedding and the bride and groom are missing," Iroh joked.

"There is no bride," Mako said, rolling his eyes.

"Fair enough," Iroh said, laughing as Lu Ten hip checked him. 

He led them to a building that stood at the front of a larger garden area that held a shrine hidden deep in the back of it.

Iroh was familiar with the setup of weddings on Kaen, having been when a friend of his also rushed into a marriage following their joining the United Forces. Iroh hadn't understood the other man's need to be married before he shipped out and wasn't too surprised when that relationship ended in a cheating scandal from both parties.

Then again, Iroh couldn't talk. His own boyfriend at the time, back when Iroh was still struggling with his sexual identity, had cheated on him within the same time frame.

His friend's wedding had lasted all of two hours, while his parents had only lasted the four minutes it took for the ink to dry.

Iroh knew it would be best if Lu Ten and Mako married like his parents had, but he also knew they'd both prefer an actual ceremony. Mako wouldn't get to experience an actual Fire Nation wedding but he'd get close enough.

While normal Fire Nation weddings started days before with visits to family ancestral shrines, parties to celebrate the couples and the families joining together, and long dinners, Kaen only did the day of ceremony activities.

Which could be long in itself. Kaen took a few short cuts with it. While any ceremony in the Fire Nation was a loose and interpretive thing, there were key factors you had to hit. The Sake ceremony that bonded the families together, the seven steps that bound the couple together and Angi's judgement, which could make or break the wedding.

Iroh laughed slightly to himself. "Do you think Agni will approve?" Iroh asked, smiling back at Lu Ten.

Lu Ten snorted. "If he doesn't that bastard dragon has another thing coming," Lu Ten said.

"Why do we need Agni's approval?" Mako asked.

"It's part of the ceremony," Lu Ten explained. "After the seven steps we link hands and being a half firebending, half non-firebending couple, I'll try to produce the largest flame I can without burning you in the process."

"Supposedly," Iroh interjected, "if the couple is compatible, Agni will protect the non-firebenders from the flame even as he enhances it. If he doesn't approve the flames have been known to not appear at all. It’s apparently even stopped a fully realized Avatar in their tracks."

"But Lu Ten's Angi's champion," Mako said nervously, "he wouldn't stop Lu Ten's flame, would he?"

"No," Lu Ten asserted.

Iroh made a face. He didn't trust the spirits to do anything predictable at this point. He wondered vaguely if that was why La had been laughing at him.

Mako seemed reassured though, so for once, Iroh kept his biting comment to himself. He didn't want to ruin Mako's time by making the man panic through the whole thing.

"Hello," a voice called when they entered the building.

Lu Ten bowed slightly at the greeter. "Hello," Lu Ten replied. "How quickly can I and my fiancé get married?"

The woman behind the counter beamed at them. "We can get you married right now. Most people don't come in until after dark. Are you just wanting a certificate or are you wanting the actual wedding?"

"Wedding," Lu Ten said, glancing at Mako who was entranced with the indoor waterfall.

"Yes sir," she said, gesturing to a door on the left, "through there they will dress you and then you can exit out to the garden."

They followed her instructions. Iroh himself stepped to the side as they were dressed. The attendant glanced at him but Iroh shook his head before resigning himself to dress up time when Lu Ten nodded.

He hated ceremonial clothing. If felt too tight and restrictive.

Before they left the dressing area a document was brought to them for Mako and Lu Ten to sign. If the person verifying the document cared that Lu Ten had the same name and rank as the long dead prince, they didn't say.

Iroh, as the witness, needed to sign as well and for a moment he struggled, nearly writing General Iroh the younger on the document. That would have raised major questions. Instead, he scribbled a quick Captain Rozin on the page.

Two versions were signed, one to be sent to the capital of the Fire Nation for record keeping and one to be kept by Mako and Lu Ten. Kaen didn't do the drawn-out wedding contracts that most marriages needed. Kaen was quick and painless, knowing anyone coming here was doing so for love and not monetary or political reasons.

The sake ceremony was held inside for some reason and Iroh stood to the back as he watched Lu Ten lead Mako through the steps. They kneeled at the table and each took three sips from three progressively larger cups. The sake had been blessed with good fortune and passionate love beforehand.

Iroh was surprised when a bowl was passed to him.

"I'm not marrying you," Iroh said, sternly. He had already told them he wasn’t a part of this.

"No, but you’re our family," Lu Ten said, "and neither of our parents are here to drink with us so just drink the sake, Ro."

Iroh rolled his eyes, but accepted the gesture as it was intended, sipping three times from the first smaller cup and then the two larger ones.

After that, Iroh slipped out to the garden to be seated while waiting. Lu Ten and Mako would come out shortly after.

The firepit in the middle was an unwelcome heat in the middle of summer.

The Fire Sage who would lead the ceremony had joined him outside, though he thankfully did not bother with small talk.

Lu Ten and Mako had been wrapped in a garland at some point since he last saw them and were now walking towards him and the Fire Sage.

They bowed as the Fire Sage led them in a prayer. When that was over Lu Ten was told to lead Mako in seven steps around the fire. 

In a typical wedding there would be actual vows spoken by the Fire Sage and there would be seven circuits rather than just steps but in Iroh's time just the steps were becoming more popular.

Iroh felt a warmth fill his stomach as he watched the two. Lu Ten's focus was fully on Mako to the point where he nearly tripped twice. Mako's face was flushed deeply but the smile on his face wasn't anything less than enamored.

That content feeling from earlier, the feeling of relief that these two were together returned and Iroh had to turn away to wipe at his eyes.

He missed Lu Ten and Mako grabbing hands and only realized they had done so when an inferno lit the area ablaze.

Iroh's mouth dropped open as the Lu Ten's fire spiraled up in a dazzling and towering display. Lu Ten and Mako who had been at the center of the large fire weren't even the slightest bit charred.

It was the hottest fire Iroh had seen before, burning a scalding white at its center and yet it touched no one or nothing in its intensity.

The Fire Sage was staring at Lu Ten in awe and Iroh hoped the man didn't recognize him or feel the need to report such an event.

There was a moment where the four of them simply paused to take in what happened, before the Fire Sage brought them back to attention.

The was no ambiguity to Angi's claim, so the Fire Sage called it and declared them married.

Lu Ten's eyes seemed glazed over and something told Iroh it wasn't tears causing the effect. The slight dip in Lu Ten's brow that faded as Mako turned to him and pulled him into a hug, only confirmed it.

Agni must have said something. Iroh wouldn't bother Lu Ten about it now, or maybe ever. If Lu Ten wished to share he would.

For now, there was a post wedding celebration to be had and Iroh had a gift of his own to give the two.

"I feel a bit odd," Mako said as they stood waiting for Lu Ten.

"Why?" Iroh asked.

"I just got married and it hasn't set in yet," he replied.

"Well, quick ceremonies with no planning doesn't leave much time to process," Iroh reassured. "You look happy."

Mako glanced over at Iroh. "I can't even explain how happy I am," Mako said. "I had kind of given up on things like this, so to be married in less than a year from dating someone. Maybe we should have waited, but I don't think I could have."

"Making up for lost time it only took you two four years to get together," Iroh joked.

"I guess," Mako said, biting his lip to stop from smiling.

Lu Ten joined them after that, sweeping Mako up into his arms. Mako shouted slightly as his feet left the ground before the two dissolved into laughter.

"So," Iroh said. "I've done some calculations and we have the time. I'm going to book separate rooms at the inn tonight but tomorrow, if you two want, you can make a stop on Ember Island for a proper honeymoon. Consider it my gift to you as I haven't nor do intend to buy you something."

"Seriously?" Lu Ten asked.

Iroh nodded only to find himself lifted off the ground alongside Mako.

"Lu, put me down," Iroh yelled, slapping the other on the back harshly. When that got no response, he reached down further to smack Lu Ten's ass.

"Hey, that behavior is reserved for my husband tonight," Lu Ten said.

"Gross," Iroh called. "Put me down."

Lu Ten dropped Mako instead. Mako laughed as Lu Ten used his lightened load to hold onto Iroh even tighter.

Lu Ten nearly crashed into Mako who had paused in front of them. Iroh and him had been too busy fussing at each other to notice.

"Mako?" Lu Ten asked.

"Did Ro say we would be going to Ember Island, as in just us two?" Mako asked, squinting back at Iroh.

Iroh made a face. He had hoped they wouldn't pick up on his wording until they were stuck on the island and Iroh was headed to Shu Jing.

"I was going to go look for the others while you two enjoyed yourselves," Iroh admitted.

"Oh, well we can skip it then," Lu Ten said.

Iroh shook his head. "You don't need me on your honeymoon," he replied.

"We want you there, though," Mako said.

Iroh paused, not having considered that. Bringing a friend on a honeymoon was odd but he supposed they were an odd little group. Iroh sighed.

"You'll need to keep it short then," Iroh said. "Three days max."

"Deal," Lu Ten said, finally dropping Iroh to the ground. Iroh wasn't prepared for it and would have toppled to the dirt if his friends hadn't both tried to grab him.

Iroh dusted himself off before pushing past the two into the inn.

He leaned onto the counter.

"My friends just got married," Iroh whispered. "I want a room on the opposite side to them as I plan on sleeping tonight."

"Hey," Mako objected as the man behind the counter snorted in good humor.

"That shouldn't be a problem," they said, before sending them off in different directions. Iroh dropped a kiss on Mako's head before kissing Lu Ten's cheek.

"You two have fun," Iroh said, winking slightly at them. He felt an unnamed emotion build in the back of his throat that had him pulling the taller men into a tight hug. He felt Mako and Lu Ten's arms tighten around him as well.

"My babies have grown up," Iroh jokingly whispered.

"Oh, shut up," Lu Ten said, pushing Iroh away playfully.

Iroh laughed. "I'm being serious," he said. "You two have come a long way from where you started. Enjoy the benefits of not having killed each other in that first week of having met."

Mako made a face as Lu Ten laughed. "We were really bad back then, weren't we?" He asked.

"I'm pretty sure I threatened to kill you at some point," Mako said.

"In pretty sure you were constantly saying that," Lu Ten joked.

Iroh shook his head. "Well, be grateful you didn't kill each other the messy way because now you can kill each other the fun way," Iroh said, shooting them on.

"Oh no, it’s still the messy way," Lu Ten said.

Iroh took a deep breath but let the comment slide. He and Lu Ten had been pushing each other's buttons for days for an unknown reason. He let the newlywed have that win and left for his own room.

Iroh was sat at dinner with his family. His grandfather sat at the head of the table, while his parents sat to one side and Iroh and his sister to the other. The table was lively with discussion as his mother and grandfather debated heavily over a new policy on the table. His father was picking at his sister over her newest paramour and Iroh sat in the heart of the chaos confused.

He knew the scene wasn’t right, or rather it was something he had long since lost, with the death of his grandfather and his trip to the past.

The scene seemed to shift with that awareness and Iroh stood on a cliff overlooking the sea. A woman stood at his side but Iroh didn’t know who she was. “You’re supposed to follow them,” she said, pointing out to the small flame that hovered to his left. “They have something to tell you.”

Iroh squinted at her slightly. “Who are you?” he asked, aware this was no normal dream.

She smiled at him. “You’re not my Iroh,” she said, “but you are just as impatient as he was at your age.”

Iroh’s brow furrowed in confusion as the woman disappeared and another flame burned where she had been.

Iroh blinked awake, unsure what woke him up, but a bright light shining outside his room quickly clued him in. He moved to shut the curtain, and realized the light was a small orange flame blinking into and out of existence. It matched the one from his dream.

Iroh frowned at the flame, knowing exactly what it was. “Go away,” he said, “I don’t have time for anymore spirit nonsense. I’m not growing anymore scales.”

The small fire flared brighter, before another lit further way, and the original flame went out. The message was clear, Iroh was to follow.

He had heard stories of the Midnight Flames before. They were a belief of those who lived on the Island of Kaen where they were a well-known phenomenon. Thought to be guiding spirits or lost ancestral spirits, they often came with warning or guidance. Iroh wasn’t sure he wanted either.

The flame reappeared outside his window, this time seemingly angry at him and Iroh sighed.

“Fine,” Iroh said, marching to the door for his shoes. “I’m coming, be patient.”

Iroh slipped from his room and followed the flame that now sparked along the ground in front of him, leading him up the volcano that had formed the Island thousands of years ago. It was currently dormant and was the home of many mining set ups, as it was rich in lead and copper, both vital to the machinery of the Fire Nation.

The flame seemingly stopped in the middle of nowhere. Iroh looked around in question but no obvious solution came. “Did you want me to see the grass?” Iroh asked, staring at the small flame.

A bright light flashed high in the sky and Iroh glanced up thinking it was another of the small flames. Instead, it was a meteorite. It burned brightly as it entered the atmosphere and for a moment, Iroh feared it was headed towards him.

It was only as it flew overhead, small hot bits of debris falling around him, that he realized what it was. Aang and his friends were in Shu Jing then, as that was likely the meteorite his Great Uncle had made his sword from.

Kaen wasn’t exactly a small island, so Iroh had no way of seeing exactly where the space rock landed.

The flame flared back to life and started burning along the ground again. Apparently, this had only been a momentary stop.

Iroh grunted, but continued following the small flame till he reached a cave. The flame led him deeper than he was comfortable with, and when the darkness seemed to nearly swallow him whole, it went out.

Iroh gasped at his loss of vision. “Very funny,” he said, shaking slightly. “Turn back on.”

There was silence for a moment, and Iroh was about to make another demand when another voice cut across him.

“Iroh.”

It was familiar, one he knew by heart even years having not heard it.

“Mom?” Iroh whispered. His vision slowly adjusted to the cave, but there was nothing of real interest.

“I know,” another voice said. “I miss him too.”

“Dad?” Iroh asked, backing up till he hit the cave wall. “Hello?”

“I regret so much what I last said to him,” his mother said. “Losing him, wherever he’s run off to, was the worst wakeup call imaginable.”

Iroh’s breath caught in his throat as he listened to the invisible conversation.

“They say he ran of with that Mako kid Korra is friends with,” his father said. “He’s okay, so wherever they’ve gone they should be fine with each other.”

“That doesn’t reassure me,” his mother said, sharply. “My son felt so upset with what I last told him that he disappeared from the face of the earth! I’ve spent so many years fighting the press and their opinion of my family that I let one of my kids feel the need to run away. I can’t forgive myself for that.”

“Zooms,” his father said, softly. “I’m sure Iroh had more reasons than that. He’s always kept things close to his chest. I don’t think he ever wanted any of this anyway. He’s always been a free spirit.”

“And I tried to tie him down,” his mother said, softly. “I wish I had just let him be. Trying to control everything like I did, I’ve never felt more foolish. He was more important. It shouldn’t have taken him leaving for me to realize that.”

Iroh took in a shaky breath, having not realized he’d been holding it until then. A tear slid down his face and his hands shook harshly.

“I just want my baby back,” his mother said, her voice breaking on the end. “I just want him to know he’s more important than any image and even if the rumors were true, I’d still love him.”

“He knows, Zooms,” his father said. Iroh couldn’t see the people the voices belonged to, but he could picture with clarity his father hugging his mother tightly as they sat in bed. “Wherever he is, I’m sure he knows.”

“I know,” Iroh said, softly, his voice hitching on the words. “I love you, too.”

There was silence after that. Iroh having no clue if the words reached his parents.

The flame flared back to life and Iroh sunk to the floor of the cave. He hadn’t thought much of home since he came back in time, and never had he wanted more, then the ability to go home now.

He glanced at the flame. “Ilah,” he called, feeling slightly stupid but knowing the tradition. “Thank you.”

The flame flared brightly, before dissipating. Iroh probably should have waited until he was outside to do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want more notes on the weddings you can look at the notes on this work [ here ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26183458/chapters/68662521)
> 
> As for more on the Midnight Flame idea you can read this snippet [ here ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26762377/chapters/65444548), but it's mostly based on the Will-o'-the-wisp legends found across the world.


	4. Ember Island - Lu Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys make a stop to Ember Island for a honeymoon and Lu Ten's worries reach a breaking point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:
> 
> First little bit is light sexy times.
> 
> Lu Ten has a nightmare where death and blood are mentioned.
> 
> Lu Ten has a panic attack.

Lu Ten hummed as Mako’s tongue slipped into his mouth and rubbed against the top of it. Mako's hand was buried in his hair holding him in place.

Lu Ten pulled back, nipping slightly at Mako's lip. He slid his hand back down Mako's cock, rubbing his thumb softly over his head. Mako moaned slightly, leaning his head back. Lu Ten took advantage and pressed kisses to his husband's exposed throat. 

He bit down slightly and huffed against Mako's neck when the other pulled harshly at his hair again.

Lu Ten tugged once more on Mako's cock, locking his lips back onto Mako's as he felt the other spill over his fingers. Mako groaned harshly into his mouth.

"Morning, Mako," Lu Ten said, against Mako's lips.

Mako kissed him in response, as he pet softly through Lu Ten's hair. His fingers snagged on a tangle closer to the bottom and Lu Ten flinched slightly. Lu Ten rested his head on Mako's chest, as he wiped his hand off on the sheets. Maybe it was rude, but it wasn't like the innkeeper didn't know what Mako and Lu Ten were doing all night. 

Iroh had only announced it to everyone. 

They’d leave a tip or something in the room to make up for it.

"We got married yesterday," Mako whispered. There was a softness to his voice that Lu Ten had never heard before.

Lu Ten felt a rising joy fill him. He knew a goofy smile was stretching across his face but he couldn't stop it. Instead, he buried it into Mako's neck.

"Yeah," Lu Ten said, "we did."

He felt slightly giddy as he thought of it. It wasn't what he had expected, but it was perfect. The man pressed underneath him was perfect.

Mako trucked a strand of hair behind Lu Ten's ear. "Let's get cleaned up," Mako said. "I'm sure Ro's waiting for us."

Lu Ten hummed in agreement, standing from the bed before carrying a shocked Mako into the washroom.

Iroh hadn't been waiting for them. Instead, they ended up waiting on him, only for Iroh to walk up to them from a direction that wasn't his room. 

He looked like shit. His face was paler than Lu Ten thought possible and he seemed jumpy. There were singed spots on his night clothes and his feet were filthy as he wasn’t wearing any shoes. Iroh didn’t do messy, so it was a bit of a shock.

"Where were you?" Mako asked, looking Iroh up and down in concern.

"Walk," Iroh said vaguely. "Are you two ready to leave? I still need to get my stuff."

Lu Ten traded a look with Mako. The other shrugged as Iroh walked away. He seemed rather dazed.

Iroh returned without comment and led them back to their boat.

"Should we maybe get a sturdier boat?" Lu Ten asked, looking down at their boat that looked one large wave away from breaking.

"We have a waterbender with us," Mako said. "We should be fine."

Iroh finally seemed to clue into the conversation as he looked at Mako in question. 

"Waterbending doesn't mean the boat won't break," Iroh said. "Regardless we should be fine. We won't need it once we catch up with Aang and his friends. They should be in Shu Jing right now. The meteorite fell last night."

"What meteorite?" Lu Ten asked.

"The one Uncle Sokka made a sword from," Iroh said, shaking his head. "Not important. We have a few days before they will head to Fire Fountain City. We can meet them there."

Lu Ten traded a confused look with Mako.

"What happened to as soon as possible?" Mako asked.

Iroh paused looking out over the water. "Some things are more important," Iroh said. "Trying to control everything so much means you miss things and I don't want to miss this time because I'm so busy trying to catch up with Aang and the others."

Lu Ten blinked slightly but didn't question him about his change of heart. Whatever had happened to Iroh last night must have been life changing, but it was Iroh’s story to tell if he wanted.

Instead, he turned to watch the water wave out from the sides of their boat as Iroh pushed it faster than it should be able to go.

Lu Ten had mixed feelings as Iroh pulled their small boat up to the shore of Ember Island. 

When Iroh had first suggested it, Lu Ten's only thoughts were on showing Mako around a place important to his childhood and taking in the relaxing atmosphere of the island. Now his stomach churned at the idea of what might have changed.

Lu Ten hadn't been to Ember Island since two summers before he and his father shipped out.

It seemed at first glance to be the same as it had always been, much like Jang Hui and Kaen had. He still didn’t trust it though, as both islands had surprised him with how different they appeared upon further inspection.

Jang Hui ran with clear water for the first time in what had to be ten years, while Kaen seemed almost destitute from the bustling and rich village his grandma had come from. Lu Ten had asked about that, in the morning as he and Mako waited for Iroh to return from whatever venture he'd gone off on. The innkeeper said the mine that had flooded the town with riches had been taken from them two years prior. It was a government takeover and the town no longer received money from excavation.

Lu Ten wasn't sure he wanted to know what this island had to hide, but he refused to let the fear ruin his and Mako's honeymoon. He'd show his husband this side of his childhood and culture if it killed him.

"So," Iroh said, "where to first? Get a room or go exploring?"

"Exploring," Lu Ten said. He felt excitement build in his chest as he linked his hand with Mako’s. "I wish we could stay for longer. In two weeks is the Fire Lily festival and the city comes alive with music and festival foods."

"Chile powder mangoes," Iroh said, his voice filled with longing.

"Chile powder mangoes," Lu Ten repeated nodding in agreement.

"I'll take your word for it," Mako said, laughing at them. "What's there to see on the island without a festival?"

"You should take Mako to the kissing tree," Iroh said, elbowing Lu Ten in the ribs. Lu Ten pushed at Iroh, slightly harder than necessary. Iroh glanced at him in question.

"You're one of those people," Lu Ten said. "Wouldn't have guessed it."

"Hey," Iroh objected. "I didn't always know I was asexual! So yes, I kissed a girl at the kissing tree."

Lu Ten laughed, before dragging them to the beach. "I mostly spent my days on the shoreside here. Aunt Ursa occasionally dragged me to the theater house with her and my cousins but for the most part my dad and I stuck to the coast. Cliff diving was also popular but I know you aren't the best swimmer and you could get slammed to the wall if you can't swim properly."

"Yeah, let’s not die for no reason," Mako said.

"Tomorrow we will go to a spa," Iroh said, interjecting as he tossed his bag, followed by his shirt to the ground. "I need a break."

"Sure," Lu Ten said, following his lead. Mako also dropped his things in the sand.

Lu Ten waited till Mako's shirt was off to drag Mako into the ocean. Iroh took off in his own direction shortly after but Lu Ten knew he'd keep an eye on their things.

Mako leaned his head on Lu Ten's shoulder as Lu Ten marched them into the water up to their knees.

Mako gasped in surprise when Lu Ten sat, pulling him down into his lap. Lu Ten looked out over the vast ocean and felt suddenly small as he held Mako in his arms. There was an entire world beyond his view and of all those places, he and Mako sat here together.

Mako finally seated himself into Lu Ten's lap properly and rested his head forward on Lu Ten's shoulder. The waves were low at this time of day and only hit them mid back at the highest.

"I don't think I've ever been happier than I am right now," Mako said quietly. "It’s an odd experience."

"Being happy shouldn't be odd," Lu Ten said. "You should always be happy. You deserve too always be happy."

Mako laughed. "It's not being happy that's odd," Mako said. "It's just the knowledge that this is the happiest I've been. I've had happy moments before but never one where I just knew as it happened that I'd never forget it."

Lu Ten felt overwhelmed by Mako's explanation. He kissed the other man deeply and wrapped his arms tightly around Mako's bare back.

There was a whistle from behind them. Mako peered over Lu Ten's shoulder and shook his head. "Iroh's planning to get drunk," Mako said. "I can already tell."

“How so?” Lu Ten asked.

“I’m going to go with the two drinks he’s carrying,” Mako said, laughing.

"Good for him," Lu Ten said, laughing. He peered over his shoulder to see Iroh sitting cross-legged next to their things with a drink in each hand. Lu Ten turned back to Mako and his smile turned more genuine. "I'm planning to get drunk on you."

Mako went to respond but was cut off by another kiss.

The next day they started at a spa house. The treatments they got there had made all the difference. Lu Ten hadn’t even realized how tense he had gotten since their last spa trip in Omashu. It had only been a few months, but they had been extremely stressful months.

"I feel refreshed," Iroh said. He sounded sleepy more than refreshed.

"Right?" Mako replied. "I could take on the Fire Lord right now, I'm sure of it."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Lu Ten said, as he pushed open the door to their room.

Iroh flopped down on Mako and Lu Ten's bed. He had his own room next door but apparently, he was spending the night with them.

Lu Ten stared at him from the doorway as Mako pushed into the room.

"I feel great," Iroh said. "Like jelly."

Mako snorted. "Nice massage then?" Mako asked.

"Yeah," Iroh muttered into the mattresses.

Lu Ten moved to the washroom to go to the bathroom and when he returned to the room both Mako and Iroh had both fallen asleep. Lu Ten smiled slightly and removed Mako's shoes to place them by the door before joining them in bed.

He fell asleep easily tucked between the two men.

"Mako!" Lu Ten yelled. The sound tore through his throat. "Mako!"

Dust was kicked up around him and Lu Ten couldn't see. He tripped and landed on top of someone. They coughed heavily in his face and Lu Ten felt flecks of something hit his lips. 

Wiping it revealed blood now smeared over both his face and hand. Lu Ten looked down and saw Iroh staring blankly up at him.

"Ro?" Lu Ten asked. Iroh coughed again but didn't seem able to say anything as he chocked on blood bubbling up through his lips. "Ro?"

Iroh took a shaky wet breath before he stopped moving all together.

"No," Lu Ten whispered. "Ro? Iroh!"

Lu Ten looked up into the dusty sky. "Mako!" He called. "Ro needs help!"

There was still no response and Lu Ten was forced to get up and abandon Iroh's body.

"Mako!" Lu Ten called.

"Looking for your little husband?"

Lu Ten jolted, turning to face his Uncle.

"What are you doing here?" Lu Ten demanded. He had thought he was in the Earth Kingdom with all the dust. His Uncle shouldn't be here.

"Taking what's mine," he answered. "You're pet earthbender is back there"

Lu Ten followed his Uncle's gesture and felt like throwing up as he saw the charred earth spread for miles behind his Uncle.

"Mako," Lu Ten whispered.

"Is gone," his Uncle said, laughing.

"Mako!" Lu Ten yelled, jolting awake.

His breath hitched as he looked up into green eyes. He nearly lashed out before clarity struck and he remembered they were Mako's.

He collapsed into Mako's arms and felt Iroh resting against his back until he was jammed between the two.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mako asked.

Lu Ten shook his head.

"Was it Agni?" Iroh asked.

Lu Ten shook his head again.

"Okay," Mako said, turning so the three of them were curled back up. Iroh fell asleep against Lu Ten's back, but Mako stayed awake with Lu Ten for the rest of the night.

They had decided on a lazy day after the interrupted night they had. Iroh was digging into the room service brought up, seemingly content to ignore as Mako and Lu Ten traded soft kisses in bed.

"So, anything we want to do before we leave?" Iroh asked.

Lu Ten glared over at him as Mako pulled back from him to answer Iroh.

"We're leaving tomorrow right?" Mako asked.

"Yeah, to Fire Fountain City," Iroh said.

"I can't think of anything," Mako said. "Lu?"

Lu Ten shook his head, standing and stretching as he did so. He reached down to dig through his bag and his eye caught on the wedding certificate copy he had been given.

A deep fear took hold of him suddenly and he collapsed on the ground next to his bag. There had been several times that they had nearly lost their things, had in fact lost a few things over the years.

Lu Ten frowned down at the paper. He didn’t want to potentially lose it, and he had no idea where they were going once they caught up with the Avatar.

"I have an idea," Lu Ten said.

Iroh and Mako turned to him in question.

"I think it would be best, with how vague everything is, if we left things we don't want to lose somewhere safe," Lu Ten said. He could feel Iroh and Mako trade a look and knew the two were about to tiptoe around him.

"Okay," Iroh said, not bothering to argue, "but where?"

"My family has a beach house," Lu Ten said. "No one but the Royal Family goes into it and then only once a year. We could hide things there."

"Tonight then," Mako said. "Under the cover of darkness. For now, come back to bed."

"Okay," Lu Ten said, staring with worry down at the certificate one last time.

Mako and Iroh kept their promise and that night, after a day of cuddles, kisses and relaxing, they slipped out of the inn towards his family vacation home.

Lu Ten paused as he heard a sound and held up his hand to stop Mako and Iroh. Peering around the corner revealed Lu Ten wasn't the only member of the royal family visiting the old vacation home.

Zuko sat on the front steps of the house. He held one of the concrete handprints they had made as children. His hand was pressed over the top of it. Lu Ten glanced at his feet where Lu Ten's own handprint sat next to a really, really tiny one.

Lu Ten could still hear baby Azula screaming with discontent at the squishy feeling of making the mold. Newly born only months before, she had not been impressed with the process.

Lu Ten had the opposite reaction and like the terror of a child he was, had smeared the left-over concrete on his face and declared himself the paste monster before chasing after Zuko. He had regretted it later when his dad had to carefully remove the dried concrete.

Lu Ten felt a breath on his neck and startled as he realized Iroh was trying to see what had halted them.

"I thought I'd find you here," Azula said, as she appeared from around the corner. Lu Ten tensed slightly at her appearance.

"Those summers we spent here seem so long ago," Zuko said, echoing a feeling Lu Ten himself knew all too well. "So much has changed."

Azula for once seems lost for words. Instead of responding to Zuko's comment she changed the topic. "Come down to the beach with me," Azula said, glancing slightly at the house. "Come on. This place is depressing."

Lu Ten thought he might have imagined it, but Azula's gaze seemed locked on his old bedroom window.

Zuko sighed before standing and following Azula. Lu Ten waited till the two were out of sight before making his way to the door.

A hand grabbed his arm to stall him.

"Lu," Mako said. "Maybe we should leave."

Lu Ten bit his lip knowing Mako was right, but they had come here for a reason and wouldn't get another chance before they needed to leave.

"We'll keep an eye out," Lu Ten said. "I don't think they are coming back."

Mako conceded and dropped Lu Ten's arm.

Lu Ten led them up the steps and into the house. His breath caught at the main room's decor. It was exactly the same as when he had last come here. Nothing had been moved, almost as if the last time he had come had been the last time anyone did.

Lu Ten swallowed harshly.

"We can store the things in my dad's room," Lu Ten said. "No one will bother looking in there."

"Why not your room?" Iroh asked.

"I highly doubt it's been left alone for five years," Lu Ten said. "It's probably a storage room at this point."

"Lu Ten," Iroh said softly. "It's still your room even in my time period."

Lu Ten stalled on the steps leading to the second floor. He didn't wish to think too hard about why that might be. "Then my room," Lu Ten said. His voice came out rougher than intended. "Apparently no one will go in there."

There were only a handful of things the three were worried about losing in the days to come. The few items could fit easily in the desk drawer of Lu Ten's old desk.

Iroh's necklace was wrapped up with Lu Ten's wedding ring. The newly signed wedding certificate was slipped into the desk as well. Flameo was left on the bed.

His hand caught on something as he was closing the drawer and Lu Ten looked down to see one of the head pieces he used to wear. He supposed he had left it here, having several of the golden flames.

Lu Ten thumbed over the edge of the flame before slipping the hair piece into his pocket. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to do so, but much like his need to kangaroo-squirrel away his wedding certificate, he wasn’t ignoring it.

He turned back from the desk to find Iroh and Mako snooping through his room.

"Hello? Privacy?" Lu Ten said, watching as Mako dug through his wardrobe.

"Since when has that existed between us?" Iroh asked, pulling open the top drawer of Lu Ten's dresser. "Okay but why do Lu Ten's childhood clothes look like they could fit us?"

Lu Ten blushed. His height had always been something he was self-conscious about as a child. When you started towering over everyone in your family as a teenager, things started to get a bit discomforting.

Mako laughed. Lu Ten turned to him and felt his heart rate pick up.

"Wedding Ideas?" Mako asked. "Cute, you had it all planned out. Sucks we couldn't have implemented your childhood dream wedding."

Mako moved to open the book and Lu Ten panicked. The book lit up in flames as Lu Ten snatched it from Mako. 

Mako and Iroh stared at him in shock.

"Um, it's embarrassing," he said. "Let's not talk about it. I'm rather glad we didn't do the things in the book as it was written with someone else in mind."

"Oh," Mako said, still seeming bemused at Lu Ten's behavior. Lu Ten knew the two weren’t going to drop it.

"Do you remember when you found out I had a crush on Zhao as a child?" Lu Ten said, sighing deeply.

"Eww," Iroh said. "Say no more."

Mako made a face before moving to run his hand through Lu Ten's shell windchime.

When the tinkling noise of the shells stopped, the three became aware of someone else in the house. Lu Ten pressed his finger to his lips before slipping towards the door. He pushed it closed, but couldn't fully shut it without making a sound.

Footsteps could be heard coming down the hall and Lu Ten gestured for Mako and Iroh to join him behind the door. The footsteps stopped outside his door.

The door opened slightly, enough for Lu Ten to see the back of Azula's head through the crack in the door.

"Stupid servants," Azula muttered to herself, surveying the room. "They know they aren't allowed in here."

Azula did a quick sweep of the room from the doorway but seemed unwilling to step into the room properly. She closed the door fully after that and continued towards where her old room had been.

Lu Ten let out a shaky breath.

"Let's hope they leave soon," Lu Ten whispered.

"Told you we should have left," Mako said.

Lu Ten shook his head. "Didn't want to risk losing our wedding certificate," Lu Ten replied. It was a deep fear, one he couldn’t properly explain.

A soft kiss to his cheek was Mako's only reply.

Azula marched back past the door and soon several voices could be heard drifting in from outside.

"Are you really going to burn your family's furniture for a fire?" Mai asked.

"Why shouldn’t we, it doesn’t matter?" Zuko replied.

Lu Ten couldn't hear the reply, as they had walked off at that point. The three waited a moment before quickly vacating the house.

Lu Ten paused on the hilltop leading away. Curiosity burned in his chest where he saw smoke curling up from the beach.

"You two go ahead," Lu Ten said. "I'm going to see if Zuko and Azula have anything important to say. I'll catch up. If I'm not back in an hour, come get me."

Mako and Iroh traded a glance before nodding and leaving him alone. Lu Ten didn't want to think much about what that glance meant but he figured Mako and Iroh knew he was lying.

Lu Ten knew they wouldn't talk much on plans but it had been a long time since the three of them had been on this island together and nostalgia had him drawn to the group.

Lu Ten slipped down to the cliffside overlooking the beach. He laid down on his stomach and listened as voices drifted into the night.

"You don't know me," Zuko shouted, "so why don't you just mind your own business?"

Ty Lee scoffed slightly. "I know you," she replied.

"No, you don't," Zuko shot back. "You're stuck in your little Ty Lee world where everything's great all the time."

Lu Ten frowned deeply at that, wondering just what he had stumbled on. He wasn't sure what he had expected to find when he came down here, but this wasn't it.

"Zuko," Mai objected, "leave her alone."

"I'm so pretty. Look at me. I can walk on my hands. Whoo!" Zuko said in a high pitched and overly cheery voice. He sounded mean in a way Lu Ten had never heard before. Though, thinking back, Aunt Ursa did always say the two only actually behaved around Lu Ten. Maybe it was normal. 

The muttered, "Circus freak," only made Lu Ten frown harder. His heart was beating quickly as he slid closer to the edge of the cliffside so that he could actually see the four teens.

Zuko was sprawled on his back while Mai, Azula and Ty Lee were seated on logs.

Azula giggled at Zuko's comment. 

Ty Lee's face darkened. It was an expression that didn't fit the typically bubbly face.

"Yes, I'm a circus freak," Ty Lee said. "Go ahead and laugh all you want. You want to know why I joined the circus?"

Lu Ten squinted slightly at that. He thought Zuko's comment had been in reference to Ty Lee's acrobatics but if Ty Lee's comment was to be trusted, she had actually run off.

"Here we go," Azula muttered.

"Do you have any idea what my home life was like?" Ty Lee asked. "Growing up with six sisters who look exactly like me? It was like I didn't even have my own name. I joined the circus because I was scared of spending the rest of my life as part of a matched set. At least I'm different now. Circus freak is a compliment."

Lu Ten swallowed harshly, feeling uncomfortable listening in now that he realized how vulnerable the conversation was turning.

Lu Ten moved to slip away when Mai's voice drifted towards him.

"Guess that explains why you need ten boyfriends, too."

Lu Ten's jaw dropped slightly. He used Ty Lee's indignant shout to slip away. He was kind of curious as to where that conversation may go, but he certainly wasn't going to continue to invade their privacy.

He could hear them shouting even as he left. Snippets of their loud conversation echoing over the empty beach.

"Well, what's your excuse, Mai?"

"Are you gonna take that?"

"Leave me alone!"

"Don't touch me! I'm still mad at you." 

"My father decided to teach me a permanent lesson on my face!"

Lu Ten shook himself as he realized his hands were shaking. His feet started running before he thought about it. He needed to get away and quickly as the conversation got louder.

"Answer the question, Zuko."

"Talk to us."

"Come on, answer the question."

"Come on, answer it."

"I'm angry at myself!"

Lu Ten tripped over his own feet as he hit the dirt and a silence fell over the area.

He couldn't hear the group anymore. His breath came out in harsh pants. He wasn't sure why the argument had caused such a strong reaction, but Lu Ten couldn't breathe properly.

Lu Ten kneeled in the dirt for a what could have been hours. The only reason he knew it hadn't been was because Mako and Iroh hasn't shown up to find him.

Lu Ten finally sat up, backing himself up until he was pressed to a tree trunk. His hands were sliced up from where he had landed but Lu Ten didn't care.

Zuko's last exclamation rang in his ears. 

Lu Ten had been scrambling since the encounter in the underground city below Ba Sing Se. He had clung desperately to the city for some form of stability and then had felt of kilter the entire time they were in the Fire Nation. He'd been sniping at Iroh on and off this whole time if only for something to make sense.

The only rational decision he'd made in the last month had been marrying Mako but even that had taken a turn here. Lu Ten had become irrationally scared of losing a piece of paper.

Zuko's words echoed in his ears again and Lu Ten realized why he felt so lost.

Lu Ten wasn't worried about Ba Sing Se. He wasn't concerned with the small details that changed in five years. He wasn't even scared of losing the items they just hid.

Lu Ten was afraid of himself. He was afraid of failing again.

He needed to fix Ba Sing Se to prove he could, but he couldn't. He didn't want to see how much his uncle had changed the islands Lu Ten once called home, while Lu Ten had been hiding like a child. He didn't want the few good things in his life, his husband, his partner and his parents, to disappear from under him should whatever vague grand plan Iroh and Mako continued on talking about failed.

Lu Ten squeezed his eyes shut and tried to level his breathing.

A hand pressed down on his shoulder and Lu Ten startled.

Mako smiled weakly down at him. "Come on," he said. "Let's go to sleep. It will all be better in the morning."

Lu Ten let himself believe that as he clung to his husband's hand and followed him and Iroh back to the inn.

The morning came with a clear sky and rumors that a group of delinquent children had burned down an Admiral's vacation house.

He supposed Mako hadn't lied. The breakdown he had yesterday had been a while coming and for once Lu Ten wasn't dreading the next Island stop and the changes that would come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this was late, my mom made me help her put a bedframe together for my brother.
> 
> Next Week may or may not have an update depending.


	5. Fire Fountain City - Mako

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sons of Agni reunite with the Gaang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Lu Ten's mental health is still not good, but he's working on it.

Mako pet softly through Lu Ten's hair and held his new husband closely. He and Iroh had brought the man back to the inn they were staying at.

Mako didn't know what had caused the break down and Lu Ten wasn't in any headspace to explain. 

Instead Mako and Iroh worked softly around him. Mako had stripped him of his torn pants and his sweat soaked shirt. Lu Ten laid in bed with only his undercloth while Iroh tended to the small scrapes and bruises, if only for something to do. 

Then the two had laid down with him until Lu Ten had drifted to sleep. The tremors that shook his body had only stopped when he was fully under.

When the rare occurance of soft snores filled the room Mako and Iroh both released a breath as they looked over Lu Ten's head to share a relieved look.

"If I didn't know better," Iroh said. "I would have assumed Lu Ten was having a seizure. As it was I still checked him for it. It's an anxiety attack though. A really bad one. I've never seen him like that before. Something's wrong with him. I didn't say anything about it back in Ba Sing Se but I'm not staying quiet now. Lu Ten needs help and if he can't get it professionally right now then he needs to talk to us."

"He's good at hiding it," Mako said, rubbing Lu Ten’s chest. "I hate how good he is at hiding it. Makes me wonder."

"Wonder what?" Iroh asked.

"He was good at hiding it even when we met him," Mako said. "Makes me wonder if the anxiety is a symptom of his combat neurosis or something older."

"You think he's always had anxiety like this?" Iroh asked. He hummed to himself. "Yes, I suppose growing up as the Crown Prince's son and having so much weight and responsibility at a young age might do it. I know I have similar issues."

"I just don't know what to do for him," Mako whispered, unable to speak as a lump formed in his throat. "First week of marriage and I'm already screwing it up. I can't help him."

"You're helping him right now," Iroh said, reaching over to lock their hands together. Iroh rested them on Lu Ten's stomach. "I know you feel like you aren't but you held him through that entire panic attack and Lu Ten clung to you like a lifeline. That helped him. You helped him."

"But he won't talk to me," Mako whispered. "He's said nothing about anything bothering him."

"I don't think he knows what's bothering him," Iroh said. "If I had to guess, it's what went down in the underground city but it could be something even older that we wouldn't know about. Maybe being home is stressing him out."

"Maybe," Mako said, freeing his hand to pull Lu Ten tight to his chest. Iroh's breathing eventually evened out and came out in soft puffs against Mako's arm but Mako stayed awake through the night. He'd regret it in the morning but he couldn't tear his eyes from Lu Ten's peaceful face, after the terror that was there before.

Reaching Fire Fountain City seemed to calm Iroh, who had been getting tense the longer they took to track Aang and his friends. Lu Ten on the other hand, had a different reaction and Mako was glad Iroh had thought to warn them about it that morning before they set sail.

Seeing the giant statue of Ozai unprepared in his current state wouldn't have helped Lu Ten in the slightest. As it was, Lu Ten had still gone alarmingly silent at the sight.

Mako grabbed his hand and when Lu Ten turned to him, cupped his husband's face. "Are you okay?" Mako asked, rubbing his thumb over Lu Ten's cheek.

Lu Ten looked tired as he stared down at Mako. "It's everywhere," Lu Ten said, his voice breaking. Iroh turned his attention towards them for a moment, his head cocked to the side as if listening as well.

"What is?" Mako asked, desperately wanting to know what was going on in Lu Ten's head.

"The war," Lu Ten said. "I never really thought about how it affected my own people. I thought, no, I knew coming home would reveal things I may have missed when I was younger but it's so much. Nothing is untouched by it."

"Something happened last night, didn't it?" Iroh asked. Though he sounded as if he knew the answer. It reminded him that Iroh was still hiding his own wayward adventure. "When you followed your cousins."

Lu Ten closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking up at Ozai's statue. "It's our fault. This war, and I knew that but recently the idea has only gotten heavier. Fixing it sometimes seems impossible," Lu Ten said. He paused slightly. "I'm worried I'll fail again."

"You haven't failed at anything Lu Ten," Iroh said, grabbing tightly to Lu Ten’s shoulder. "Failure only happens when you give up. We lost in Ba Sing Se, but we will never win if we give up now."

"Don't quote my dad at me," Lu Ten replied.

Iroh paused. "I was quoting my grandfather actually but I suppose that was where he got it from," Iroh said, looking at Mako helplessly.

Mako still had a grip on Lu Ten's hand, and used it to draw the man's attention to him.

Looking up at Lu Ten brought a moment he'd once had with Korra to mind. She had also been someone who feared failure in the face of great opposition even if she hid it well. Mako hadn't handled Korra's doubts very well, at the time under his own stresses and doubts, but he wouldn't make the same mistake with Lu Ten.

"You've done a lot of good in this world, and maybe it doesn't outweigh the bad, maybe it never will," Mako said. "But you have the ability to win this, Lu Ten. At no point have I ever doubted that. I know we've taken some heavy hits recently and that's a change from the highs we've always had in the past but it's no reason to fear moving forward. We may fail again before it's over, but I've got your back no matter what. Iroh and I both do."

There was a look in Lu Ten's eyes that launched Mako back five years to Varrick's wedding when he had said something similar to Korra. That hopeful, pleasure of knowing someone was in your corner was fragile but it was there.

"I'm scared," Lu Ten said. "This always seemed so far away."

"I am too," Mako said. Iroh nodded softly next to him. "I'd be worried if you weren't scared, but Lu Ten, we've never been more ready for this than now. You just have to trust that, trust in us."

Lu Ten bit his lip and nodded. He kissed Mako softly. "I can do that," Lu Ten said and this time Mako believed him.

Lu Ten looked over Mako's shoulder and his face crumpled in confusion. "Um, is Toph supposed to be on a wanted poster?" Lu Ten asked.

"What?" Mako asked, turning to see what Lu Ten was talking about.

"Oh yeah," Iroh said. "That's a thing that happened. I’ve only seen pictures in textbooks. No one would ever tell me the full stroy. We can probably catch them if we hang around gambling places."

"What are kids doing gambling?" Lu Ten asked.

"What were they doing blowing up a factory?" Iroh asked. "It's best to not question them."

"So are we just going to check back alleys until we find them?" Mako asked.

"Do you have a better idea?" Iroh shot back.

Mako paused before shaking his head. "No," he said, drawing the word out. His attention caught on a bar where a group of men sat outside clustered together. "Actually, maybe we could just ask."

Iroh turned to him in question but Mako was already walking to the bar. The men weren't drinking, rather they seemed to just be taking refuge from the sun under the bar porch.

"Evening fellas," Mako said. "I was wondering if you might be willing to help some travelers out."

The eldest man raided a bushy brow at Mako seeming to clock the direction he came in. Mako could always tell when someone contemplating taking advantage of him or Iroh suddenly noticed Lu Ten. The slight widening of eyes followed by a suddenly friendlier demeanor was always a dead give away.

Sure enough, the old man turned back to Mako with both eyes raised. "Where are you men traveling from?" He asked.

"We came from the colonies but most recently Kaen," Mako said. He figured mentioning Ember Island wasn't the move when asking on the topic of money. It was a vacation island, no one coming from it would be experiencing any sort of monetary hardships. "We were looking to make a bit of spare change before we moved on to the next stop. We haven't been having much luck. A job, or maybe even a game of chance. My friend's good at gambling."

"The big guy?" One of the younger men asked.

"No the little one," Mako said, knowing Iroh would kill him if he ever heard Mako say that.

"He doesn't look the type," another man said.

"That's what makes him the type," Mako corrected.

The old man laughed. "I suppose it does. You'd be better off with a job," he said. "They are hiring here and then there's a forge down the block that would love your tall friend even for a short time. I wouldn't try gambling right now, there's a group of kids swindling everyone. You'd lose more than you'd make. It's best to avoid the alley behind the bakery. That seems to be their new spot. How the whole city hasn't caught on by now is lost on me."

"Don't tell him that," one of the more middle-aged men said, smacking the older man in the shoulder. "It's embarrassing enough without strangers knowing."

"I won't tell," Mako said. "Thanks for the advice."

"Take care," the old man said.

Mako stifled a laugh at what the old man said about Lu Ten when he thought Mako was out of ear shot.

"Didn't know men could get that big. What are they feeding them in the colonies? We need that here."

Mako smirked as he walked up to his friend. "Behind the bakery is a gambling ring they've been frequenting lately," Mako said.

"How'd you know they'd know that?" Iroh asked.

"Seemed the type," Mako said.

"Old people know everything, anyway," Lu Ten said. 

"That too," Mako said smiling.

Iroh huffed. "So they say," Iroh said. "I do wonder if there are any Pai Sho players in the area. It might be useful to touch base but we missed Piandao."

"We can look if we have time," Lu Ten said. "For now let's focus on our first mission."

Mako led them on towards the bakery. He only had a vague gesture to their left to direct him. The twon was big enough it likely had multiple bakeries but he highly doubted there would be multiple with gambling rings behind them.

It was likely nearby though.

It was the smell of freshly baked sticky buns that helped them locate it and Mako didn't even bother fighting Iroh and Lu Ten over whether or not they could have one.

With the two men munching on their treats, Mako took the lead again when they rounded the corner.

There was a game of Fan-Tan taking place.

The perfect game for an earthbender with seismic sensing to cheat at, particularly a blind one.

Mako watched the set up, as one man collected all the wadgers from the four players and the other set the game. Two handfuls of dried beans were dropped to the ground and a cup was placed over it.

Mako was glad that island culture meant no one was really concerned with his lack of shoes so long as he was outside. He shifted his foot slightly and felt the beans under the cup. He still wasn't skilled enough to count them and closing his eyes to concentrate would make him look odd.

"Care for a game, young men?" The man collecting money asked.

"Sure," Iroh said, shoving the last of his sticky bun into his mouth as he pulled out his coin pouch. 

"Two copper to play, then whatever the bet," the man said.

Iroh low balled it, handing the man two copper and a silver. They didn't have much Fire Nation money currently so hopefully Iroh wouldn't gamble it all before Toph showed up.

The board was set and this time Mako did close his eyes as Lu Ten moved towards the board to watch Iroh, blocking Mako from view.

It took a moment but Mako had always been good with numbers. When he was done counting Mako wrapped himself around his husband. He wasn't able to place his chin comfortable on Lu Ten's shoulder, so instead he rested against Lu Ten's bicep.

Iroh glanced at him in question and Mako held up a three. Iroh took the spot at the board and marked his bet.

They won that round but lost the next as Mako miscounted. They won the next two before Toph showed up, Sokka in tow.

"I don't think kids should be gambling," Iroh said, glancing back at the two.

Sokka's eyes went wide but Toph only scoffed.

"I didn't know it was a gambling game," she lied. "I was curious about the noise."

"Would you like to play, little miss?" The bet collector asked. "It's pure chance, no tricks."

Iroh sighed and stood, moving to the side to allow Toph access to the board. 

"One bet," Iroh said, watching the men running the booth carefully. "Don't take advantage."

"Wouldn't dream of it," the man said, placing a hand over his heart. Iroh hummed before stepping back to join Mako and Lu Ten.

"What was that about?" Mako asked.

"Needed a reason to stick around," Iroh whispered. "Now I'm not the weirdo hanging around after leaving the game but a concerned adult watching to make sure a kid doesn't get taken advantage of."

"Something tells me you should be a concerned adult watching to make sure two old men don't get taken advantage of," Lu Ten joked.

Iroh smirked at him. "Maybe," he said.

Mako shook his head at both of them as he watched Toph play. She won the first game and Iroh tried to usher her away. Sokka, seeing they wanted to talk to them, tried to help but Toph seemed determined to continue playing.

Unlike Iroh and Mako's game, Toph gave herself away. Iroh's loss took the heat off him even as he kept winning after but Toph got win after win at a game not designed for it.

The men were starting to get testy and even though they couldn't figure out how she was doing it, they knew she was somehow cheating.

Mako knew why she had a wanted poster now. She'd been too obvious and careless.

Toph seemed to pick up on the tensions and finally left.

"That's not how you cheat," Mako said as they left the alley.

"What would you know of it?" Toph said. There was an aggressiveness to her words though they seemed more defensive than antagonistic.

"I used to be in a gang," Mako said. "They ran scams all the time and I ran their number for them. When you win too much people can tell it's rigged or someone's cheating."

"You were in a gang?" Toph asked, disbelief in her voice. 

Mako didn't like her tone. It rubbed him the wrong way and he recalled that the Beifongs were rich. They'd never get it. To them gangs were things people did because they were bad or as fun, not something people did because they had to. Toph’s daughter Suyin was evidence of that.

Toph likely saw him as a stick in the mud from their previous interactions. Mako wasn't stupid he knew how he came across to people.

"When your parents die and you've got nothing, that's how it works sometimes," Mako said. "I gambled because I had to. Rich kids like you never seem to get that."

That seemed to strike a nerve but Mako didn't care. "It's not a game," Mako continued. "Men like that will kill you for less."

"I'd like to see them try," Toph said.

"I wouldn't need to," Mako said softly. "I've already seen them do it. You think being a kid gets you pity? That being a good earthbender is enough to get you to the other side? It's not. Men like this don't forget people, Toph. Be lucky so far they are only interested in your arrest."

Toph frowned. "Whatever," she said. "You don't know as much as you think you do."

Lu Ten made a sound in the back of his throat.

"Are you laughing at me?" Mako asked.

Lu Ten shook his head but the amused look in his eyes said otherwise. 

"Betrayed by my own husband," Mako said. "Can you believe him, Ro?"

Iroh raised a brow. "I don't do domestic disputes," Iroh said.

Lu Ten really did laugh at that.

Mako shook his head.

"So," Sokka said looking around nervously as they left the city proper. "How did you three find us?"

"You left a very obvious trail," Iroh said. "Between detoxing a river that's been polluted for longer than Toph's been alive to the wanted posters everywhere, it was a fairly simple guess."

"But why are you here?" Sokka asked.

"We're from here," Iroh replied. "Well, Mako's not but we are."

Iroh gestured between Lu Ten and himself.

"Did Aang not tell you who I was?" Lu Ten asked.

"No, was he supposed to?" Sokka asked.

"It might have been useful information," Lu Ten said. "I was following Zuko and Azula back from Ba Sing Se. Before that we were in the city but it's best to leave further explanations for later."

"Sure, sure," Sokka said, jumping when his messenger hawk screeched. "You don't know anything else about us do you?"

"Are we supposed to?" Iroh asked.

"We came here because the war stage was shifting," Mako said. "We just happened to realize you were here."

Mako was surprised at how seamlessly they were lying together as they hadn't planned what to say to the group of kids, though they had been doing things like this for a while now.

They reached the camp where Katara seemed to be cooking.

"Well look who decided to join us," Katara said, pausing as she turned and took in Mako, Iroh and Lu Ten standing behind Sokka and Toph. "Um, hi?"

"We found your friends in the city," Lu Ten said, cheerfully. "Followed them back."

"Alright!" Aang said. "That's great! I mean not great because you guys did a lot of damage in Ba Sing Se, but great because if you do that damage now we can defeat the Fire Lord."

"Sorry to burst your bubble kid but we won't be bonding with spirits again anytime soon," Iroh muttered. "It's dangerous."

"Why, I've merged with spirits before and I've been fine," Aang asked.

"You're the Avatar," Iroh said. "I'm not growing more fish scales for you. No more spiritual intervention."

Aang slumped down as if Iroh delivered him the worst news ever. The other three kids looked at Iroh in alarm.

Never one to stay down long, Aang bounced back up. "But you'll still help us right?" He asked. 

"Yeah, the Sons of Agni are at your full service," Lu Ten said.

"Great!" Aang said.

"How'd you find us," Katara demanded cutting across the conversation.

Mako went to answer before Katara scoffed.

"Let me guess," she said. "You were gambling again."

"And if we were?" Toph demanded.

"Do you not see how dangerous that is Toph?" Katara said. "That's how they found you, wasn't it?"

Toph said nothing but glared in Katara's direction.

"Oh, wait," Katara said, throwing out Toph's wanted poster. "Maybe it was this!"

Toph huffed. "I don't know what that is!" Toph yelled. "I mean, seriously! What is with you people? I'm blind!"

Toph pulled on her bottom eyelids to emphasize her point.

"It's a wanted poster of you!" Katara said. "The Runaway! Is that what you're called now? Are you proud of this? Is that how you found us?"

Katara rounded on Mako and his friends. All three men backed up slightly. None of them particularly wanted to admit that no, they already knew they were in the city, but yes the posters helped.

"Where did you get that," Toph demanded.

"It doesn't matter where I got it. The fact is-" Katara was cut off.

"You went through my stuff! You had no right!" Toph yelled.

"Should we come back later?" Lu Ten asked as they watched the two girls fight.

"Wish we could," Mako replied.

"Your stuff was messy and I was just straightening up, and I happened to stumble across it," Katara lied.

"That's a lie," Toph said, pointing her finger into Katara's face. "You're lying, Katara!"

Mako watched as Katara continued to yell at Toph about her gambling issue and suddenly Toph's earlier hostility made sense. It still didn't change the fact that Mako and Katara were right.

Mako startled when Toph suddenly pointed at him. "He's not my dad and you're not my mom, and you're not their mom," Toph said, gesturing over to Aang and Sokka.

Mako blinked at the accusation. "I'm not acting like a dad am I?" Mako asked.

Iroh and Lu Ten both shrugged.

"Ro does though," Lu Ten said. "Can’t get away with anything with him around."

Iroh sighed as Mako laughed.

"I can't be around you right now," Toph yelled

"Well, I can't be around you," Katara shouted back.

The two girls stormed off as Sokka's hawk screeched.

"I know, Hawky," Sokka said. "Why can't they just get along?"

"Personality clash," Mako said. "They'll work it out. My best friend and I used to be like that."

Aang looked between the three men.

"Which one?" Aang asked.

"Oh, you don't know her," Mako said. An odd feeling overcame him suddenly as Mako realized for the first time that one day the spirit inside Aang would become Korra. Mako wondered if the spirit had any clue of who he and Iroh were.

"So, explanation later then?" Iroh said. "Uh, we'll just set up camp over there?"

"Later," Sokka agreed, leaving the group. Mako assumed he was going to search for his sister.

Once their camp was set up the three moved to cook dinner as Katara, Toph and Sokka were still missing.

When Katara did return, she was silent and sat next to the fire with little fuss. Momo curled up with her and she started petting his head.

"Everything okay?" Iroh asked, softly.

"I don't know," Katara said.

Iroh nodded. "Would you like to pick up your training later?" Iroh asked.

Katara smiled softly. "Very much so," she said.

"Wait!" Aang said, launching up from his lounging position. "You!"

Lu Ten's eyes went wide as Aang pointed at him. "Me?" Lu Ten asked.

"You can teach me firebending," Aang said. "You said so, once I got earthbending down!"

"Oh, yeah sure," Lu Ten said, hesitantly. "We can start tomorrow at sunrise if you want."

"What about noon?" Aang asked, making a face at Lu Ten's suggestion.

"Tomorrow, sunrise," Lu Ten said.

"You don't even like waking up at sunrise," Mako pointed out. 

Lu Ten shrugged. "It's how you train, you know that," he said.

"No, actually I don't," Mako said. He had vague memories of his mother meditating with him at sunrise but once he was on the streets he practiced when he could.

"Oh, sorry, I forget sometimes," Lu Ten said, kissing Mako's temple in apology.

"Hi, Toph," Katara said, suddenly. Mako looked up to see Toph and Sokka rejoin them. He missed the second half of what Katara said.

Toph held up her hand. "Katara, stop," she said. "You don't need to apologize. I was the one being stupid. These scams are out of control, and I'm done with them."

"Actually I wasn't going to apologize," Katara said smiling. "I was gonna say, well, I wanna pull a scam with you."

All five males in the camp turned to the two girls in shock.

"What?" Toph said. "You wanna pull a scam?"

"Not just any scam. The ultimate scam," Katara said, ignoring Sokka and Aang's dramatics as the two boys fainted. "Whaddaya say, Toph? Just me and you. One last go. You in?"

"Not advisable," Mako said. "Seriously. You don't want to mess with criminals and law enforcement. Jail isn't fun even for a small amount of time."

"Let me guess," Toph said sarcastically. "You've been to jail too."

"Yes," Mako said. "I would have stayed there too, had I not accidentally been proven innocent. I'm just saying, be careful with whatever you're doing. They know who Toph is."

"Whatever," Toph said, turning to Katara. "You know I'm in! Now what's this idea of yours?"

Katara and Toph walked off to plan while Iroh stood to help Sokka and Aang. Lu Ten took to tending the fire.

Mako had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

"I'm going to follow them when they leave," Mako said. 

Lu Ten frowned. "You haven't been sleeping well the past few days," Lu Ten said. "Don't push yourself or you'll be no help."

"I'll be fine," Mako said.

Toph and Katara returned soon after and the camp pretended like the scam was never a thing. Apparently Katara and Toph were waiting till daylight tomorrow.

"See," Mako said, as he followed Lu Ten to bed that night. "Plenty of time to get sleep and be refreshed."

Lu Ten hummed and wrapped his arm around Mako's shoulder before pushing him into the tent.

Mako didn't sleep well, and jolted awake in the morning disoriented. "What?" He asked, staring at Iroh's tattoo as he pulled on his tunic.

"Morning, Mako," Lu Ten said. "You're targets left."

"Shit," Mako said, moving to get up.

"Mako, they are long gone at this point. Let's just wait a bit," Iroh said.

"They might be hurt!" Mako said. "How long have they been gone?"

"A few hours," Lu Ten admitted.

As if summoning him, Aang suddenly poked his head into their tent. "Sorry, Mr. Dragons but Sokka and I are worried. Can you come with us to the city to look for our friends?" Aang asked.

Mako shot a look at Iroh and Lu Ten before sitting up properly. "Give us a minute and we can leave," Mako said.

He dressed without talking to either of his friends.

"Sorry," Iroh said. "We should have woken you but you just seemed so tired."

"Whatever," Mako said, pushing his way from the tent.

Reaching the town, Mako felt a chill run down his spine at the seemingly empty city.

"Where do you think they might be?" Sokka asked.

"Jail," Mako said, pointing to a building in front of them.

"Right, but where is everyone else?" Aang asked.

"Something’s wrong," Iroh said, looking around.

Iroh and Aang moved at seemingly the same time.

"Down," Iroh yelled, pulling Mako and Lu Ten in the opposite direction from the boys.

"What was that?" Lu Ten asked, peering around the corner.

"Combustion bender," Mako and Iroh said together. Lu Ten looked back at them horrified.

"Fantastic," he said, panicked.

The combustion bender seemed more interested in the two boys, as he shot another blast at them.

Aang and Sokka took off down a random street and Mako tore after them as the combustion bender followed. 

The two boys went flying as another blast hit them. 

The combustion bender stalled as a water whip hit his neck. His attention turned to Iroh, who blocked his next attack with a wave that he then crashed down on the man.

Mako's hair stood on end as a crackling sound formed to his left. Combustion man dodged the lightning strike, barely, before dismissing them to chase after Aang.

The two disappeared from view but Mako could still feel it when Aang hit the ground near Ozai's stupid statue.

Mako quickly led his friends back to the statue only to see the combustion bender's head encased in ice and Katara and Toph joining the group.

The ice shattered and another blast was sent their way. Toph launched a boulder that exploded on impact with the concentrated fire.

There was a lull in the battle as the combustion bender seemed to lose his balance. Mako took advantage, shaking the stone roof tiles under his feet till he slid from the roof and fell.

"Hey, I got it," Sokka said as they ran. "The perfect name for that guy. Combustion Man!"

"Good job, Sokka. Now let's get outta here before Combustion Man catches us," Toph said.

"Don't name him," Iroh said.

"But it fits so well," Sokka objected.

Mako shook his head, more than glad once the group made it back to camp and were flying off to a new location.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to regroup with them," Mako whispered into Iroh's ear. Iroh shoved him but laughed in reply.

"Certainly more interesting," Iroh said.

That was what Mako was afraid of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry guys, this story is going on a hiatus until April 4th. My job is about to get chaotic that month and I don't know how often I'll be able to write so I want to be able to pre-write for that month. I also have a lot of smaller projects I want to get out of the way in the mean time. I'll still be writing this story, I just wont be posting it until then.
> 
> I will be updating the short stories in the mean time so there will be those posted on Sunday rather than this.
> 
> Any one curious:
> 
> Iroh learns of Lu Ten's death and later how he's alive - will be posted the 14th  
> Ki Ha's thoughts on the Son's of Agni and the fall of Ba Sing Se - will be posted the 21st  
> Iroh's Dating History - will be posted the 28th

**Author's Note:**

> I screwed around and change the way the summaries for the stories are written as I like these better.


End file.
